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Delmarva Blood Bank asks for more donors during National Blood Donor Month

January is National Blood Donor Month and the Delmarva Blood Bank is encouraging everyone to help out hospitals by donating blood.

Local hospitals require about 350 donors a day to supply their need of blood and blood products. Platelets are especially in high demand due to their short shelf life of five days.

Michael Waite, spokesperson for the Delmarva Blood Bank, says their blood supply tends to be low at this time of the year. This is because cold weather and illness prevent people from going to donation centers. Hospitals will also demand more blood due to increased traffic accidents that typically occur during the holiday season.

“We just don’t know from one minute to the next what’s going to happen to us, and with people on the road during the holiday season, the chances of catastrophe happening are higher because again, of the number of people on the road," said Waite. “We need to make sure that an adequate supply of blood is not only on the shelves of our hospital, but then here at our blood center in case something happens, we can transport it to the hospital as quickly as possible.”

Waite adds the bank needs O-negative blood the most, since it’s the only type that can be transfused to anybody. The Delmarva Blood Bank operates five donor centers throughout the peninsula and 30 mobile donation locations.

To find a list of places where you can donate blood and learn about donor qualifications, go to delmarvablood.org.

 

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