Blood donors are a constant need throughout the year, but from Christmas to New Year’s, the need becomes dire.
“The holidays are going on which means people are spending time with family, Christmas shopping, traveling, and the fact of the matter is they're generally not here donating blood,” said Eric Lindsey, director of media and branding at the Kentucky Blood Center.
Compared to pandemic-era numbers, 2024 proved positive for the blood center, but according to Lindsey, “good” doesn’t cut it in the blood donation world.
“When it comes to saving lives, good is not good enough, so we always need donors,” said Lindsey.
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To supply its 70 partner hospitals, the center required 400 donors each day. Lindsey said that they don’t hit their goal often enough. Right now, the Kentucky Blood Center has only a half day’s supply of O- and A- blood.
If you’re looking to beef up your New Year’s resolutions, the center encourages you to consider donating.
“If for nothing else, at some point you may need it and you would hope someone would donate for you,” said Donald Meibers.
For about 50 years, Meibers has been a blood donor. Each time he donates, he’s saving three lives.
“It’s a good feeling,” he said.
What’s more, donating blood takes less than an hour. Upon arrival, you will be asked a short series of questions to ensure you qualify to give. Once completed, you can give blood, which takes only about 12 minutes.
“People are making New Year's resolutions, trying to get off to the right start, so we hope blood donation is one of those things,” said Lindsey.
According to the American Red Cross, someone in America requires a blood transfusion every two seconds.
The organization added that blood donations continue to lag into the new year as icy winter weather and seasonal illness can cause continued shortages.
This article was written by Megan Mannering for Scripps News Lexington.
