Push for donations on World Blood Donor Day

SEATTLE — Bloodworks Northwest is expecting this could be a busy summer. The group has already sent out one emergency shipment of blood due to weather events, and more could be coming.

The blood collection group has always put out calls for blood donations to help firm up the local supply, but the group also sends blood around the country -- including a major shipment to other parts of the U.S. due to weather in late May.

Juan Cotto is the head of Government Affairs at Bloodworks NW and says that the need for blood continues and is greater in the summer months, “We’re anticipating all those types of weather shortages or accidents that could happen.”

As Texas and Oklahoma recover from severe storms that ripped across those states in late May their recovery was aided by Bloodworks NW and 11 other blood centers across the country.

Storms have also pounded Florida and inundated entire cities with water. At least two people have died, and the emergency response is still ongoing.

Cotto admits there could be a need for blood there, and there will always be a need for blood here in the Pacific Northwest, “We’re part of a consortium where we have routine monthly intervals where we’re the ones responsible for donating blood to those situations.

“…We certainly monitor things across the country we monitor situations due to weather or unexpected accidents…we can really help situations as they come along during the summer months and throughout the year,“ he says.

Already, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is forecasting a range of 17 to 25 total named storms - with 8 to 13 forecast to be hurricanes.

Bloodworks NW says summer is when the nation’s blood supply drops, as families head go on vacations and appointments dwindle. The American Red Cross described the nation’s blood supply as being at a “twenty-year low.”

The potential for natural disasters for the summer months and through the end of the year underlines how critical the blood supply is, especially when it comes to regions like ours sending blood to regions in need or stockpiling blood for local emergencies says Cotto.

“We are collecting blood for our folks in the PNW and our responsibility is to the patients of the PNW,” Cotto said.

To make an appointment, download the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit RedCrossBlood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).

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