Critically low blood supply; drives being held in Burns & John Day
By Logan Bagett on Wednesday, August 7th, 2024 in Eastern/Southeast Oregon News More Top Stories
JOHN DAY – The American Red Cross is holding blood drives across the state and the nation to address their critically low supply. Red Cross Account Manager Rebecca O’Rourke was on KJDY’s Coffee Time and explained there are blood drives this week in Burns, and next week in John Day. She said that while there is a critical need for all blood types, O negative is in the highest demand:
“O neg. is a universal blood type, so that’s the one we need for emergencies, which usually go up during the summertime. People are out and about having fun, driving around, and there are more emergencies in the hospitals. So, that is the blood type the doctors will reach for id they don’t know the patient’s specific blood type.
So, O neg. is really important, but right now, the critical need is all blood types. We are low on everything.”
The Burns Blood Drives are August 7th and 8th at Harney County Community Center, and John Day’s drives will be held August 13th and 14th at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. To schedule a donation, log on to redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED-CROSS.
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