WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- The snow/ice storm hitting more than half of the United States is making a previous blood shortage more acute, American Red Cross officials say.
"We are grateful for the upswing in donations which has occurred since we issued the call for people to give blood," Richard Benjamin, chief medical officer of the American Red Cross, says in a statement.
"However, this latest storm is expected to further impact our ability to hold blood collections. We continue to need the public's help to rebuild our blood inventory back to a safe and adequate level."
The bad winter weather in the past several weeks has resulted in more than 18,000 expected blood donations to go uncollected.
People are asked to make an appointment to give blood by calling 1-800-RED CROSS or visit the Web site redcrossblood.org. Those who live in the path of the storm are asked to schedule a donation time when it is safe to travel, Benjamin says.
All blood types are needed, but there is a special need for donors with O-negative, A-negative and B-negative blood, Benjamin says.
