American Red Cross facing troubles with state wide blood donations

Closed roadways, bridges and highways have forced the Red Cross to cancel 500 scheduled donations. 

State law enforcement were called in to help with the donations. 

“Natural disasters have an adverse affect on our ability to collect and transport blood,” Samantha Pollard with the American Red Cross said. “Just last week Columbus was flooded in completely, but we needed to get blood to the hospital. So we had to have the State Patrol fly blood by helicopter

They’ve faced similar challenges in years past but say now they are in desperate need of donors.

“Every two seconds somebody in the U.S. needs blood,” Pollard said. “What we do see is a decrease in the supply. A decrease in the number of people to come out and donate.”

You can schedule an appointment to donate here: Red Cross Blood Donations. Walk-ins are encouraged.

To contact them via phone, call them at 1-800-Red-Cross or download their app, Blood Donor.