The American Red Cross is urging Illinoisans to roll up their sleeves and donate blood to help address a regional shortage.
Officials have issued a blood shortage emergency. Laura McGuire is a Red Cross spokesperson for the Central and Southern Illinois region.
“The Red Cross has less than a three day supply of most blood types available, and we also have a two-day supply of type-0 blood,” McGuire said.
McGuire says blood is needed every two seconds across the county. Yet, only three out of 100 people actually donate. Summer vacations and back-to-school activities compound the problem.
“Our colleges and our high schools, which supply about 20 percent of the blood, are out of session. So we see a little decline in our inventory.”
The Red Cross says it takes about an hour to donate blood, but much of that time involves screening questions and assessment. You can find regional blood drive locations via redcrossblood.org.
