Recent shootings and multiple trauma situations are continuing to have a negative effect on the local blood supply with no immediate end in sight.
“Summer blood inventories are difficult enough to maintain with less donors responding to our pleas for help” said Michael Waite, Blood Bank of Delmarva (BBD) director of Marketing and Community Relations. “We truly need people to take this request seriously as our supply of this lifesaving gift is running dangerously low. We’re very close to being at a critical stage right now and we need our community to respond.”
“Traumas traditionally happen more often when people travel during the summer months when unfortunately street violence escalates as well. Innocent people are getting injured every day which is why we need to bolster the local blood supply, especially our O negative inventory. O negative blood is the universal type which can be transfused to anyone in an emergency, and the first product rescue personnel reach for to save someone’s life”, said Waite.
The Delmarva is not the only region suffering from shortages, although the recent events in Orlando brought out hundreds of donors in support of those injured in the brutal attack over this past weekend. “When tragedies like this occur people are moved to respond and donate. The fact is there are emergency situations every day of the week right here at home that demand our attention and that threaten our supply. We need your help now! We’re asking anyone who’s eligible to donate to please make an appointment at your earliest convenience…the need is real and it’s critical!” Waite stated.
Blood Bank of Delmarva has five fixed donor locations— Newark, Dover, Wilmington, DE, Chadds Ford, PA and Salisbury, MD—as well as more than 30 regularly scheduled mobile locations. Appointments are recommended, but walk-ins are welcome anytime.
The nonprofit organization needs 350 donors a day to meet the needs of the hospitals served in the Delmarva region to ensure that more than 20,000 patients a year receive needed blood transfusions.
For more information or to schedule an appointment, visit www.DelmarvaBlood.org, call 1 888 8-BLOOD-8 or download their free mobile app.
