During the early weeks of August, Doyle Rader was worried.
Rader, who serves as communications manager for the American Red Cross North Texas region, received word that the organization was experiencing a low rate of blood donations nationwide.
The Red Cross must collect over 13,000 blood donations daily to meet the needs of patients at about 2,500 hospitals and transfusion centers across the country.
The organization experienced a shortfall of about 25% nationally through October, said Melissa Rodriguez, account manager of donor services with the American Red Cross.
Since then, the number of donations has steadied. But the organization is preparing to see a dip again during the month of December.
“During the winter months, we see a fall in donations because people are distracted during the holidays, especially with Christmas coming up,” said Rader. “Things also get shut down with icy roads and storms.”
The North Texas region of the Red Cross is asking more residents to donate blood.
Here’s when blood drives will be held throughout the month of December in Tarrant County:
In order to donate whole blood with Red Cross, residents must be:
- at least 17 years old.
- at least 110 pounds.
- in good health and feeling well.
Additional eligibility criteria are related to specific medications, medical conditions and personal history of would-be donors.
“Every two seconds someone in the hospital needs blood — it’s something that we have to get from our generous donors,” said Rader. “We’re encouraging people to keep their appointments so that we don’t continue to see a shortfall.”
David Moreno is the health reporter at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at david.moreno@fortworthreport.org or via Twitter.
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