CBC: Blood supply at ‘critical state’ after drop in donations at end of August

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A significant drop in donations has left the local blood supply critically low, a Community Blood Center executive said.

August is always a tough month to collect blood, CBC Vice President of Donor and Hospital Services David Graham said, and a lack of donations over the Labor Day Holiday weekend has put the blood supply in an “extremely critical state.”

Graham says the decline in donations started in the last two weeks of August, and continued over the long weekend heading into September.

“August is always a very tough month to collect blood,” Graham said. “You have families taking final summer vacations and preparing for back-to-school events. Often times, blood donations get lost in the mix and people think that their one unit of blood won’t make a difference, but in fact it does make a difference.”

Graham is asking for eligible donors to find a local blood drive or head to one of the six Kansas City-area CBC locations to donate.

Eligible donors must be at least 16 years of age, weigh a minimum of 115 pounds and be in good health.

“Every single donation will help at least two hospital patients who rely on life-saving blood,” Graham said.

For a list of blood drives and CBC locations, visit www.savealifenow.org.