Blood shortage an ongoing issue; state calls for donations
Blood services providers have seen a “slight uptick” in donations amid an ongoing blood donation shortage, but cautioned that the battle is not over.
“We have seen a very slight uptick in our area. That is really, really positive for us,” said Kristen Lane, communications manager at the blood services provider Vitalant. “But the ongoing message as always is that there has to be a steady supply of blood available.”
The shortage of blood has been a pressing problem since the beginning of the pandemic. Lane said that there has not been a significant further decline in blood supplies since January, when blood services providers sounded the alarm nationwide about the need for donors. However, new donations are constantly needed by health care providers.
“The one concern I always have when we have a call to action for blood donors is that not everybody understands the need for an ongoing supply of blood,” she said. “The message they hear is ‘we need blood right now because there’s a shortage, and then we’re OK.’ But we’re never OK, because there always has to be blood at the hospitals.”
Local drives
The following blood drives are available for people to donate in February:
Karns City Area High School at 1446 Kittanning Pike, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 25;
New Life Christian Ministries at 139 Knoch Road, noon to 6 p.m. Feb. 18;
South College at 3000 Westinghouse Drive, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Feb. 24;
The Movies at Cranberry - Cranberry Mall at 6945 U.S. Route 322, 1 to 6 p.m. Feb. 28.
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