Blood drive will help with extreme SoCal shortage

A blood drive will take place on Monday at the Canyon Lake Country Club in an attempt to help curve a severe Southern California blood and platelet shortage. Red Cross supplies have dropped to the lowest post-summer levels since 2015.

The Monday drive will take place between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Appointments can be made using the sponsor code CLGCC at the Red Cross website, redcrossblood.org.

The American Red Cross’s emergency blood and platelet shortage has resulted in it needing to collect 10,000 additional blood products each week over the next month for the blood supply to recover and meet hospital and patient needs.

Donors of all blood types – especially type O – and platelet donors are urged to make an appointment for the Canyon Lake blood drive to help overcome this current shortage.

During the shortage, donor turnout has sharply declined while patient needs remain high. Blood donor turnout has reached the lowest levels of the year as many delayed giving amid a return to the workplace and in-person learning, as well as a recent surge in COVID-19 cases across the country due to the Delta variant.

As COVID-19 cases spiked in August, blood donor participation decreased about 10 percent, but blood product distributions to hospitals have remained strong, significantly outpacing blood donations in recent weeks.

The national Red Cross blood inventory is the lowest it has been at this time of year since 2015, with less than a day’s supply of certain blood types on hand in recent weeks. The supply of types O positive and O negative blood, the most needed blood types by hospitals, dropped to less than a half-day supply at times over the last month, well below the ideal five-day supply.

“Fall is typically a time when the blood supply rebounds as donors are more available to give than during the busy summer months, but this year has presented a unique and serious challenge,” said Dr. Pampee Young, chief medical officer for the Red Cross. “While it’s clear the pandemic continues to weigh heavily on our minds, the Red Cross asks the public to remember donating blood and platelets is essential to the many patients who rely on lifesaving transfusions every day.”

All those who come to donate on Monday will receive a link by email to claim a free $5.00 e-gift card to a merchant of their choice.

Monday’s blood drive will follow the highest standards of safety and infection control, as well as additional precautions including face masks for donors and staff, regardless of vaccination status.