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Call for blood comes with new year
SIKESTON — After the holiday season, blood donors are in great need to offer someone else a second shot at life.
The American Red Cross of Southeast Missouri invites anyone who is eligible to donate blood to do so for people in need. January is also National Volunteer Blood Donor Month.
The Missouri-Arkansas Blood Service Region’s Southern Missouri-Arkansas District Manager Jennifer Freeze said the winter months can make it harder to collect enough blood to meet patients’ requirements.
“This time of year, we tend to see fewer people coming out to donate blood,” Freeze said. “It’s due to all the holiday activities, people traveling and then on top of all of that, people are coming down with seasonal illnesses or other respiratory viruses, and they aren’t healthy enough to come out and donate.”
According to Freeze, roughly 20% of their blood drives occur at schools, and the school breaks may make it difficult as well.
Freeze explained while this is the time of year when fewer individuals give, the need for blood also tends to rise during this time of year.
“Due to more people traveling for the holidays, there are more accidents that occur and there are people who tend to schedule elective surgeries this time of year because they are out of school or off work and that means the hospitals will need more blood,” Freeze said. “That’s why it’s so important that people come out and donate this time of year because we do see fewer blood donors, but the need for blood historically goes up.”
All blood types are needed right now, according to Freeze, but type O blood types are especially needed.
“Specifically type O blood, type O-negative especially tends to be short and it is short sometimes all year round and that’s because it is the universal blood type,” Freeze said.
The universal blood type may be transfused to all, whereas O-positive blood type can be transfused to anyone who is classified as having a positive blood type.
Sikeston, will host many blood drives during the month of January, and the community is encouraged to get out and donate.
Sikeston American Red Cross Blood Drives in January include:
— Friday, Jan. 5, at Montgomery Bank, located at 1 Montgomery Bank Drive, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
— Monday, Jan. 8, at Missouri Department of Transportation located on 2675 North Main St., from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.
— Friday, Jan. 12, at Scott County Central High School, located on 20794 US Highway 61, from noon to 4 p.m.
– Thursday Jan. 18, at YMCA, 511 Taylor, 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
— Friday, Jan. 19, at YMCA, 511 Taylor, 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
— Saturday, Jan. 20 at YMCA, 511 Taylor, from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
— Tuesday, Jan. 30, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 1010 North Main Street, 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
— Tuesday, Jan. 3o at Southeast Missouri State University, 2401 North Main, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.