Photo: Getty Images
Our Blood Institute says O-negative blood donations are desperately needed following Wednesday evening’s severe storms and tornadoes.
OBI released the following statement:
Our community was hit hard by tornadoes last night and we currently have less than a one-day supply of O-negative and B-negative blood units on hand. O-negative blood is especially important right now because it’s the only universal blood type and is the type that first responders use after a crisis strikes.
In addition, Our Blood Institute is a member of the Blood Emergency Readiness Corps (BERC), which is a national group of blood centers committed to preparing for mass transfusion disasters by collecting extra units for an emergency reserve. This week OBI is on-call for BERC, meaning we have held even more units on hand than usual for disasters like yesterday’s tornado outbreak.
Early reports show that the weather events last evening will have a significant impact on our upcoming blood drives scheduled this week, with potentially hundreds of blood units lost due to cancelled drives. Please donate today to help us secure the blood supply. We need to be ready in case another crisis strikes.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the towns of Cole and Shawnee, Oklahoma, and the surrounding communities that were hit by the tornadoes.
Call 877-340-8777 or visit http://obi.org to schedule your donation.