GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- This is National Blood Donor Month and the need for blood donations right now is great in West Michigan.
Versiti Blood Center has made an emergency appeal for blood donations. Kristin Paltzer is Public Relations ManagVersiti Blood Center has made an emergency appeal for blood donations. Kristin Paltzer is Public er for Versiti. She tells WOOD Radio that COVID-19, staffing issues, winter storms and the holiday period all brought the blood supply to dangerously low levels.
"We have less than a day's supply of life-saving blood available for Michigan hospitals and the patients that they serve," Paltzer said.
Paltzer says they're seeing an uptick in emergency room visits, and trauma patients requiring blood transfusions, which have decimated the blood supply. For example, a trauma patient could require up to 100 units of blood.
"To put that into perspective, one unit of blood can potentially save three people. It could be used to treat three different patients," she said.
You can donate blood at St. Mary Magdalen Church this Sunday as part of Versiti's mobile blood drive. The donor portage webpage link.
And Versiti will have two pink buses out on the Cornerstone Church's parking lot on 84th Street in Gaines Township on January 29th. You can visit the Versiti website to make an appointment.
###