‘The gift of life’: Red Cross in desperate need of blood donations

There is a nationwide blood shortage, and the American Red Cross is pushing for more people to step up and donate.

The Red Cross says blood donations save lives, and currently the amount of blood being collected is not meeting the need for transfusions.

Red Cross Southern Maine Executive Director Steve Thomas says the end of summer is always tough with families busy getting ready and into the school year, wedding season, and even hurricane season.

Maine blood donation appointments are down 62% for the month of October for the Red Cross, something Thomas says impacts the entire country.

“Since August we’ve seen about a 29% blood decline and that’s a huge deal because we’re a national blood provider. We’re actually the largest in the country. So, when our supply diminishes that actually has a huge impact on the availability of blood both locally and nationally,” Thomas said.

Terry Flaherty says her late-husband, Tim Flaherty, benefitted greatly from blood transfusions before he passed away from cancer.

Terry has been running blood drives in Tim’s honor ever since. She started it up in 2011 a few months after he died.

Tim, who had been a firefighter for 30 years, got diagnosed with cancer in 2004. Terry says he at one point became dependent on transfusions and they would have lost him sooner without them.

“I wanted to keep his legacy alive, but also give the gift of life to someone in need. “The gift of life, it’s a blood donation for someone like a husband, a father, a grandfather, a friend like Tim, to let them have more time with their family,” Terry said.

To find a blood donation site near you, visit redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED-CROSS.