Local Red Cross Chapter Needs Donors Now

Thursday, March 9th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

The American Red Cross needs your blood now. They say the nation's blood supply is dangerously low. Red Cross officials went to Congress Wednesday, asking lawmakers to use their influence to encourage people to give blood.

It's the middle of the day and Tulsa's Red Cross Blood Center is nearly empty of donors
Workers say it's a common scene, since only five per cent of the people who can give blood actually do. "It's really a sobering statistic in this country that if everybody who donates blood stops donating, the country would be completely out of blood in only 2 days," said Tulsa Red Cross chapter spokesperson Maggie Jewell.

The blood supply is so low that leaders on Capitol Hill have joined the American Red Cross in asking people to give blood as a civic duty. "One in three of us will need blood or a blood product in our lifetime," Jewell said. "Do the math. Look around and do the math 1,2,3."

Alison Bowls knows about being the one in three. At 19, she was diagnosed with Leukemia. "I couldn't even tell you how many times I received blood or platelets," she said. "I'm just one person. There's so many more people who need blood products."

Many more people who need the blood that may not be available. There are some faithful donors, though who make regular visits to the Red Cross. "We have five kids," said donor Rachel Christinsen. "If anybody ever needed it, that's why I always do it."

The local chapter hopes its plea to congress and the public will send more donors like Christinsen their way. "It saved my life," she said. "I wouldn't be here if there weren't volunteers willing to give blood and blood products to the Red Cross. It's very important."

The American Red Cross says over the past two years, the number of donors has increased by eight percent. However, the need for blood has gone up 11 per cent.