The American Red Cross Needs Blood

Filed by btucker in Feature, Local News.
July 26, 2011

Obvious affects of drought are low crop yields and water regulations, but it creates some unexpected challenges too. The state is struggling with low blood supply. American Red Cross regional director of communications Rusty Surette says the heat makes it very difficult to recruit donors.

“We have certainly seen an impact across the nation,” Surette said. “The American Red Cross is urging people to give blood as soon as possible to get the supply back to a sufficient level.”

Between May and June, blood supplies were the lowest they’ve been in more than 12 years. All blood types are needed, but O negative is in especially high demand because of its universal nature.

“Where the heat has reached 107, 108 degrees and it’s forced the Red Cross to cancel blood drives or close them early,” Surette said. “And that’s just because people stay home, they reduce their activity, they are taking precautions.”

For more information on donating blood and a list of blood drives go to redcrossblood.org

Leave a Reply

Saturday, May 26th

9PM to 11PM American Routes

American Routes

Hosted by Nick Spitzer, American Routes is a two-hour weekly excursion into American music, spanning eras and genresÑroots rock and soul, blues and country, jazz, gospel and beyond.

Listen live on your computer!

11PM to 12AM The Song Is You

The Song Is You

See the complete program guide.

Upcoming Events in your area (Submit your event today!)

Streaming audio and podcasts

Stream KOSU on your smartphone

Phone Streaming

SmartPhone listening options on this page are intended for many iPhones, Blackberries, etc. with low-cost software applications available to listen to our full-time web streams, both News on KOSU-1 and Classical on KOSU-2.

Learn more about our complete range of streaming services

This American Life - Cinema