Eau Claire (WQOW) - Demand for blood may not be dropping, but the number of donations is. That has the American Red Cross issuing an emergency call for donors.
"That's the concern that we face, as a community, is making sure that our hospitals have the blood that they need to care for their patients," says Red Cross Donor Recruitment Representative Cory Miller.
The Red Cross says blood donations are down significantly for the year compared to where they were a year ago at this time.
"Right now we're on an appeal nationally for blood, and our appeal this time really is a need for all blood types, any and all blood types. We always have a strong need for Type O, O negative, O positive, but right now we really need all types," said Miller.
Reasons for the dip vary.
"We saw a very early spring this year, back in March. So what people tend to do is they kind of change their frame of mind, what they're doing, how they do those things. And we saw that so early we had such a decrease in blood collections as a result of that," Miller says.
"Sometimes my travels take me in places where it limits my ability to give blood, but for the most part I'll on a fairly regular schedule come in and donate blood," says donor John Paddock.
The Red Cross runs promotions throughout the summer to increase donations, but needs more people like John to walk in the door. The kind of people who donate on a regular basis.
"Well, I think it's a great way to do some community service and it's a great way to save somebody's life," Paddock says.
There is a blood drive tomorrow at St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church on State Street in Eau Claire. It runs from 2-7 p.m.
