Blood Supply Running Low as Almost No One Shows Up to Atlantic City Blood Drive
Yesterday, the Press of Atlantic City‘s Steven Lemongello tweeted this photo:
Absolutely zero blood donors today at an #AtlanticCity blood drive today at All Wars blg… That's not good. #acpress pic.twitter.com/Wx4CW0ZDzx
— Steven Lemongello (@SteveLemongello) February 10, 2014
Eventually, he writes in the paper today, people did show up. Three of them. Only two who could give blood.
But for a while at Monday’s Atlantic City drive, there were no blood types of any kind. Several appointments made for the morning – usually the busiest period – came and went, and 10 staff members sat at tables talking as equipment stood unused, post-donation snacks went uneaten, and everyone waited. “It’s extremely unusual,” team supervisor Jim Gallagher said. “We usually get 25 to 30 a day typically in the Penn-Jersey region.”
Search the News and you’ll see that blood supply is low in many areas of the country. Much of this is due to the harsh weather; many blood drives have been canceled due to the snow. “The ongoing winter storms and freezing temperatures have resulted in thousands of uncollected blood and platelet donations,” the Penn-Jersey Red Cross blood site reads.
If you’d like to give blood, the Red Cross has a locator where you can find the nearest place to donate. You can almost always go to the Philadelphia Donor Center at 7th and Spring Garden to donate.
