COLUMBUS, Ohio – Not only did the winter weather play havoc with school schedules, it also left the American Red Cross in central Ohio short of blood.
Learn more about donating blood.
Bad weather in March has already forced the cancellation of more than 200 blood drives, resulting in nearly 7,000 uncollected blood and platelet donations, on top of more than 26,400 uncollected donations in February due to severe weather across 27 states, said Rodney Wilson, communications manager of the Central Ohio Blood Services Region.
The central Ohio region encompasses 27 counties, where nearly 500 donations went uncollected, though many patients still needed on transfusions, Wilson said.
Wilson says donors with the most in-demand blood types – O negative, A negative and B negative – are particularly encouraged to help replenish the supply.