The American Red Cross has a number of local blood drives coming to the KVOE listening area.
St. Mark’s Lutheran Church began the slate of drives Monday with Olpe High School next on the list with a drive scheduled for Mar. 20. Northern Heights High School will host a drive the next day Mar. 21 and Waverly High School will be hosting a drive the day after that on Mar. 22.
This will all lead up to the annual Emporia Community Blood Drive taking place Apr. 3-4 at the Emporia Presbyterian Church west campus. American Red Cross Spokesperson Susan Faler announced the blood drives during an appearance on KVOE’s Morning Show Monday.
Her appearance comes a week after the announcement that LifeSave Transport became the first medical transport company in Kansas to gain Red Cross clearance to deliver blood by air through what’s being called the Blood in Flight Initiative. Faler called this development an “absolute game changer.”
All of these developments come as the need for blood remains great. Faler says roughly 60 percent of the population is eligible to give blood, however, only about three percent do so regularly.
Faler also announced Monday that those looking to donate blood will no longer have to follow COVID-19-related mitigation strategies as those have “been done away with.”
If you would like to schedule an appointment to give blood you can find more information or schedule an appointment by visiting RedCrossBlood.org or by calling 1-800-733-2767.
