Allegan, Kent, and Ottawa Counties — The American Red Cross is asking donors of all types to give blood as it faces what it’s called a “looming shortage”.
Over the last 11 weeks, donations have gone down by about 8%, which means the organization has had 80,000 fewer donations than expected. The organization has scheduled several blood drives across West Michigan through Aug. 20, and can be found online.
Donors with types O negative, B negative, and A negative are especially needed, and type O negative is a universal donor. In addition to blood, the Red Cross needs platelet donors. Platelets are a clotting component of blood.
