Dexter District Library, American Red Cross Plan Emergency Blood Drive

The American Red Cross blood supply has reached emergency levels with 50,000 fewer donations than expected in June. 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.

A blood drive will be held at the from 1-7 p.m. July 5 to help collect donations.

An unseasonably early start to spring may be a contributing factor to this year’s decrease in donations, the Red Cross said in a press release.

"Many regular donors got an early start on summer activities and aren’t taking time to give blood or platelets," Diane Ward, CEO of the American Red Cross Southeastern Michigan Blood Services Region, serving Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Washtenaw and St. Clair counties said. "In addition, this year’s mid-week Independence Day holiday has reduced the number of scheduled Red Cross blood drives. Many sponsors, especially businesses, are unable to host drives because employees are taking extended vacations."

Ward said the need for blood is constant.

"Every two seconds, someone in the United States needs a blood transfusion," she said.

Blood and platelets are needed for many different reasons, including accident and burn victims, heart surgery patients, organ transplant patients, premature babies – when there are complications during childbirth – and for patients receiving treatment for leukemia, cancer or sickle cell disease.

“Every day, the Red Cross must collect more than 17,000 pints of blood for patients at more than 3,000 hospitals and transfusion centers across the country. Of that, the Southeastern Michigan Blood Services Region must collect approximately 900 pints per day,” Ward said. “We need donors to make appointments in the coming days and weeks to help us ensure that all patient blood needs can be met. Each pint of whole blood can help save more than one life."

"There is always the chance that a physician could postpone an elective surgery if the needed blood products aren’t readily available or, in a worst case scenario, have to forego a more serious procedure because of a shortage of blood.” Ward added. “Our goal is to ensure that doesn’t happen.”

Other blood drives in the area include:

• June 29: , 1-7 p.m.
• July 2: University of Michigan Hospital, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• July 11: Thomson Reuters, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more upcoming blood drives, visit http://www.redcrossblood.org.