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Sandy Causes Blood Shortage In Washington Region

By: Elliott Francis // October 30, 2012
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Donating blood is always a good idea, but it's especially important when hospitals experience a shortfall in supplies.
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Donating blood is always a good idea, but it's especially important when hospitals experience a shortfall in supplies.

The hurricane is causing a shortage of badly-needed blood in the region.

As the storm moved in, people stayed home, and blood donor sites lost power. The net result for the Red Cross is a shortage of nearly 3,000 units of whole blood and platelets in the Washington region.

"We're absolutely looking for blood donations," says Charlie Shimanski, Vice President of Red Cross disaster services. "At times like this, pre-scheduled blood drives are often canceled because of the storm, and so we ask people to go to our website at redcross.org to learn how they can give blood. We're also asking people to make a charitable donation, because we can't do what we do without the generosity of the public. Folks can call 800-RED-CROSS to make a contribution or text redcross to 90999."

To donate blood you should be at least 17 years old and in good health.

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