The American Red Cross hosted a blood drive at the Foothills Performing Arts and Civic Center in Oneonta Wednesday, Oct. 16 and will be at the Southside Mall from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 19.
“We are doing more blood drives in the area to help out victims of the hurricanes in past few weeks,” Alicia Chianta, a Red Cross donor ambassador volunteer, said Wednesday. “We host blood drives in the area … every month or so, but we know that people want to give blood to help from the hurricanes. We have collected more, but we don’t know how much yet.”
The Red Cross operates through a national inventory with the ability to move blood wherever and whenever it is needed most. Donors outside of affected areas are encouraged to make an appointment to give now and help keep the blood supply stable in the weeks to come, according to a media release Oct. 9.
“I wanted to give blood to help out how I could,” Oneonta resident Peter Bonnici said Wednesday. “It’s not my first time. I tend to do this regularly, but I know that there is a need now from the hurricanes.”
The Red Cross has an app to track where a donor’s blood is going, including the hospital location and when it’s used, Chianta said.
“We have had many people who donate blood get the app because they are curious about where their blood ends up going,” she said. “It makes it more personal.”
To schedule a blood donation appointment, visit RedCrossBlood.org, call 1-800-RED-CROSS or by use the Red Cross blood donor app, the release said.