MERRILLVILLE | The American Red Cross blood supply has reached emergency levels, with 50,000 fewer donations than expected this month. This shortfall leaves the Red Cross with half the readily available blood products on hand now than this time last year.
The Red Cross is calling on all eligible blood donors to roll up a sleeve and give as soon as possible. All blood types are needed, but especially O positive, O negative, B negative and A negative in order to meet patient demand this summer.
An unseasonably early start to spring may be a contributing factor to this year’s decrease in donations. Many regular donors got an early start on summer activities and aren’t taking time to give blood or platelets.
In addition, this year’s mid-week Independence Day holiday has reduced the number of scheduled Red Cross blood drives.
“Every day, the Red Cross must collect more than 17,000 pints of blood. Of that, the Indiana-Ohio Blood Services Region must collect approximately 500 pints per day,” said Sharyn Whitman, CEO of the American Red Cross Indiana-Ohio Blood Services Region, serving northern and central Indiana and northwestern Ohio.
Call (800-733-2767) or visit redcrossblood.org to make an appointment. A blood donor card or driver’s license, or two other forms of identification, are required at check-in. Individuals who are 17 (16 with parental permission in some states), weigh at least 110 pounds and are in generally good health may be eligible to donate blood.
Upcoming blood drives include:
- 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. today at the Wicker Memorial Park clubhouse, 8554 Indianapolis Blvd., Highland. Come to donate at this Battle for Blood blood drive and receive a T-shirt.
- 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Crown Point High School cafeteria, 1500 S. Main St., Crown Point. Come to donate and receive a $5 Applebee’s in Merrillville coupon.
- 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Family Video, 295 S. Wisconsin St., Hobart. Come to donate and receive a coupon for a free video rental. Go to redcrossblood.org and enter sponsor code “famvidhob” to schedule a blood donation appointment.
- 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Family Video, 1208 E. Glen Park Ave., Griffith. Come to donate and receive a coupon for a free video rental. Go to redcrossblood.org and enter sponsor code “famvidgr” to schedule an appointment.
- 1 to 6 p.m. Monday in the Fellowship Hall at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 8955 Columbia Road, Munster. Go to redcrossblood.org and enter sponsor code “westpres” to schedule an appointment. This blood drive is sponsored by the Westminster Presbyterian Church Youth Group.
- 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Student Union Library Room 321 at Purdue University Calumet, 2200 169th St., Hammond. Come to donate and be entered into a drawing for a $25 shopping spree. Call (219) 969-2709 to schedule an appointment.
- 1:30 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Highland Parks & Recreation Center, 2450 Lincoln St. Go to redcrossblood.org and enter sponsor code “hprec” to schedule an appointment.
- 12:30 to 6:30 p.m. July 5 at St. Matthias Church Hall, 101 Burrell Drive, Crown Point. Go to redcrossblood.org and enter sponsor code “stmattcrp” to schedule an appointment.
- 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. July 7 in the Diamond Club at U.S. Steel Yard , One Stadium Plaza, Gary. Come to donate and receive a flex ticket to a Gary SouthShore RailCats game.
- 2:30 to 7:30 p.m. July 7 in the gymnasium at Hanover Central High School, 10120 W. 133rd Ave., Cedar Lake. Go to redcrossblood.org and enter sponsor code “HCHS” to schedule an appointment.
- 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 7 at Family Video, 1440 Sheffield Ave., Dyer. Come to donate and receive a coupon for a free video rental. Go to redcrossblood.org and enter sponsor code “famviddyer” to schedule an appointment.
- 4 to 7 p.m. July 7 at Family Video, 2939 45th St., Highland. Go to redcrossblood.org and enter sponsor code “famvid” to schedule an appointment. Come to donate and receive a coupon for a free video rental.
The Merrillville Donor Center, 791 E. 83rd Ave., is open from 12:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays and 8 a.m. to noon the first and third Saturday of each month.
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