Oklahoma American Red Cross Still In Need Of Blood Donations

Tuesday, the American Red Cross held blood drives across Green Country because they said it's seeing the need for blood donations.

American Red Cross Communications Manager, Jan Hale said they're seeing the increase because hospitals are allowing elective and planned surgeries again. She said blood has an expirations limit of 42 days which is why they're in need. 

"All those donors that we saw when the pandemic began. All those wonderful people that rolled up their sleeve. There were so many first-time donors. So many donors that hadn't given in a long time. Their blood has been used," said Hale. 

To help with physical distancing, the American Red Cross is not allowing visitors inside during the blood drives and you'll have to make an appointment ahead of time. 

"What it allows us to do is to make sure that we don't have a lot of people congregating at a blood drive waiting for their turn," said Hale.

Hale said staff and donors are asked to wear masks while giving blood and they're taking the temperatures of donors. 

"We want people to understand that donating blood is an essential part of keeping our community safe and stable even during this time," said Hale.

She said the need for blood dropped earlier in the pandemic as the number of surgeries fell. With surgeries resuming, Hale said the need for donations is almost back up to what it was before the virus.

She said they're also looking for people who have recovered from COVID-19. 

"We'll see if we can set an appointment for you to donate convalescent plasma that will be given to patients that are still in recovery," said Hale.

If you're interested in scheduling an appointment to donate blood, click here.