NW Illinois News

Sen. Brian Stewart (R-Freeport) is hosting a blood drive from noon to 4:30 p.m. on April 13 in the municipal parking lot on 50 West Douglas St., Freeport, amid reports of blood donation shortages in Illinois.

“Blood and its components are critical resources in community health care,” Stewart said in. a press release on his website. “Across our nation, a person needs blood every two seconds. About one in seven people entering a hospital needs blood. One pint of blood can provide the resources to help treat three people. Think about all the good you can do by becoming a blood donor at our Blood Drive on April 13 in downtown Freeport.”

The COVID-19 pandemic hit blood donations hard as state officials declared stay-at-home orders and encouraged social distancing.

In January, the American Red Cross declared that there was a blood crisis as the Omicron variant of coronavirus raged. Then, the organization had seen a 10% decline in blood donation, and while all blood types are in demand, types O positive and O negative were in the highest demand.

The American Red Cross wrote that donated blood is used in childbirth and cancer treatment.

"Typically, the American Red Cross has a 5-day supply of blood available at any given time," Celena Roldan, the CEO of the Illinois Red Cross, said to ABC7. "In January, they had a supply for a single day."

For more information about donating blood, visit the American Red Cross website.

Blood that is donated could help individuals who suffer from sickle cell disease, trauma, and other issues.

“We have a lot that are on dialysis, sickle cell patients, we have vulnerable population that requires blood transfusions on a regular basis, simply because of their underlying comorbidity,” said Dr. Khurram Khan, chief medical officer at Roseland Hospital.

Khan said they are being more judicious with any blood products.

“If your hemoglobin is low, we give you a unit of blood and then we repeat the level, first to see that you need another unit and secondly that that transfusion we did give was effective,” Khan said.