Blood drives not attracting many donors

Red Cross Blood Drive chairman Bill Thome talks to Red Cross worker Heidi Keppinger as he gives one pint of blood at the drive at St. Patrick of Heatherdowns Church in January.

A month into a local appeal for blood donations, the local American Red Cross region in July still received about 400 units less than a year ago.

“It’s not off to the best start,” Annie Marckel, spokesman for the Western Lake Erie Blood Services region, said Friday. “We definitely need more people to come in to donate.”

Even though blood donations also were down by 850 units in June compared to a year ago, no surgeries have had to be canceled at the 24 hospitals in the Red Cross region in recent weeks because of a lack of blood.

“We don’t want it to get to that point,” Ms. Marckel said.

Baseball fans on Monday will have the chance to donate blood in exchange for a free ticket to a Mud Hens game any Monday through Wednesday in August. The blood drive will be from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday at Fifth Third Field, and donors can meet players and mascots as well as enter to win autographed baseballs and other items.

Donors through Sept. 25 can enter to win a Harley-Davidson from Napoleon Harley-Davidson or a Chevrolet Cruze from Dave White Chevrolet in Sylvania.

Blood drive appointments can be scheduled by calling 1-800-733-2767 or at redcrossblood.org online. Those who register online for the Mud Hens drive should use the sponsor code MUDHENS.

All blood types are needed, but demand for O negative is critical, Ms. Marckel said. O negative is the so-called universal blood type because it can be transfused to everyone and is needed for emergency situations.

Each weekday, 300 people must give blood and platelets to meet hospital demand, the Red Cross said.

Other upcoming blood drives include:

• Saturday: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Faith United Methodist Church, 111 South Main St., Luckey; 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Rossford Community Recreation Center, 400 Dixie Highway; 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Harley-Davidson Sales & Service, 862 American Rd., Napoleon; 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., bloodmobile near Target at Mall of Monroe, 2121 North Monroe St., Monroe.

• Monday: noon to 6 p.m., Oak Harbor VFW, 251 West Main St.

• Tuesday: noon to 6 p.m., Sandusky Township Fire Department, 2207 Oak Harbor Rd., Fremont; noon to 6 p.m., Delta Church of Christ, 500 Providence St., Delta.

• Wednesday: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Flower Hospital, 5200 Harroun Rd., Sylvania.

• Thursday: noon to 6 p.m., Moose Lodge 884, 1320 North Macomb, Monroe; 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., St. Anne’s Catholic Church, 2420 North Dixie Hwy., Monroe.

• Friday: noon to 6 p.m., Tiffin Mall, 870 West Market St., Tiffin; 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., St. Pius Catholic Church, 3011 Carskaddon Ave., Toledo.

• Aug. 6: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Tiffin Mall, 870 West Market St.; 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., First Christian Church, 875 Haskins Rd., Bowling Green.

Contact Julie M. McKinnon at: jmckinnon@theblade.com or 419-724-6087.