Blood donations lowest in 15 years

Blood drive set Aug. 2 in Fulton

Mainly because of this month's hot weather, Red Cross blood donations are at the lowest levels they have been in 15 years, Red Cross officials report.

The next Red Cross blood donation will be next week on Aug. 2 from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Victory Fellowship Church, 6850 State Road NN, Fulton.

Scott Caswell, CEO of the Missouri-Illinois Blood Services Region, said "we appreciate the support from donors across the region. We're encouraging all eligible donors who didn't have a chance to give yet to step up and help patients by making an appointment, as well as those who gave earlier in the spring and are now again eligible."

Caswell said inventories of donated blood are at extremely low levels because of the recent extreme heat and other factors. Severe storms in some areas forced cancellation of dozens of blood drives earlier this month. He said the American Red Cross continues to have an emergency need for donors of all blood types.

Caswell said public support from last month's appeal temporarily stopped a decline in the blood supply. But distractions by the mid-week Independence Day events and extreme heat have combined to decrease donations during July.

Throughout the nation, the Red Cross must collect more than 17,000 pints of blood each day to meet the needs of patients at more than 3,000 hospitals and transfusion centers around the nation, he said.

To help the tornado-stricken people of Dumas and surroundings, donations can be made to the Delta Area Disaster Relief Fund, care of the Delta Area Community Foundation, P.O. Box 894, Dumas, AR, 71639, or through the Arkansas Community Foundation, 700 S. Rock St., Little Rock, AR, 72202.