The Blood Bank of Delmarva is facing a blood emergency and is taking steps to rebuild its blood supply.
The Blood Bank hopes a new pop-up donation site at Tanger Outlets in Rehoboth can help address the current shortage.
“Think of it as a quasi-donor center. It’s basically run by our mobile operations, which are the folks that take mobile blood drives throughout Delmarva,” said Blood Bank of Delmarva spokesman Tony Prado. “It’s going to be a stationary place where we get to two to three times a week. And this is something the community has indicated that it wants.”
Prado says the pop-up site is in the Seaside Outlets, right next to the Haggar and Oshkosh B’Gosh stores.
It will be open three days a week through October. They hope the site will handle 40 appointments per day.
“When you declare a blood emergency, it takes time to climb out of that hole and every little bit helps,” said Prado. “ And whether the folks are giving blood on Monday or Tuesday - when we’ll be back at Tanger Outlets - it all counts. It’s all about making it convenient for the community to donate blood.”
The Blood Bank’s supply is currently below 4 days worth. A 7-day supply is needed by area hospitals. To meet that need, 350 to 380 donors per day are necessary.
Prado says donors with type O and type A blood are especially needed.
