As people worldwide celebrate the new year, it looks like all of them have forgotten to donate blood, as the blood banks have low blood supplies now. A representative of the Central Plains Region of the American Red Cross said that people always forget to donate blood around the holidays. Coupled with winter breaks for schools and colleges, bad weather and winter illnesses, the blood supply dips even further.

 

Recent data shows that the Red Cross is 15 percent below the 500 pints a day needed to supply blood to the hospitals in the region. In addition, there was a 25 percent decline in donations before Christmas, and a 50 percent decline in donations during the week of Christmas and New Year's.

 

Unfortunately, this decline causes additional stress on blood supplies for the month of January, which looks like a traditional period of high demand for blood as people wait until after the holidays to have surgeries. The collected blood supplies for a certain region go to local hospitals first, but a nationwide system allows for bringing in blood from other regions when needed.

 

In these tough economic times, donating blood is a way for area people to make a big difference without affecting their pocketbooks. The American Red Cross and the Community Blood Center coordinate and collect blood supplies locally. Every hospital depends on generous volunteer donors to save lives in their respective community, so everyone should make an effort and donate.

 

Only 5 percent of the people eligible to donate blood actually do so, the Red Cross says. The basic requirements regarding donor eligibility are a minimum age of 17 and a minimum weight of 110 pounds and to be health in general. For the interested ones, information can be found online and through a telephone call.