Miller-Keystone Blood Center Miller-Keystone Blood Center has issued an urgent appeal for donors of all blood types.

“We currently have multiple trauma patients being treated at our regional hospitals,” confirms Qiana Cressman, Executive Director of Donor Operations. “These individuals have already received several hundred units of blood, as well as plasma and platelets, and it is anticipated that they will require additional transfusions in the coming days.”

Cressman notes that our community’s blood supply was already at critical levels prior to these most recent traumas.

“Blood supplies typically decrease in the summer, as family vacations, accidents and seasonal illnesses, combined with school vacations, often prevent people from donating blood,” she says, adding that the COVID-19 pandemic added an additional layer of challenges during the past few months.

“The COVID-19 pandemic forced the blood center to cancel several hundred drives, resulting in the loss of more than 10,000 blood donations between March and July,” she said. “It also required us to move to an appointment-only policy in order to accommodate current social distancing guidelines.”

Cressman said, “While blood donations traditionally decrease in the summer, we usually anticipate an uptick beginning in September when our regional high schools and colleges are back in session. However with many schools adopting online or hybrid models for the upcoming school year, we have been notified by many of these institutions that they will be unable to host blood drives for the foreseeable future.”

“More than 450 donors are needed every day in our community to help in the care of cancer patients, accident victims, premature infants and others requiring lifesaving transfusions at our regional hospitals,” says Holly Yacynych, marketing manager, Miller-Keystone Blood Center.

“While the loss of blood drives at regional businesses, as well as high schools and colleges, has caused a decrease in our community blood supply, the demand at our hospitals remains steady,” she said. “We would just like to remind people that blood cannot be manufactured, it can only come from the kind generosity of volunteer blood donors. If there is ever a time to donate, now is that time.”

To donate, individuals must be 16 years of age or older, weigh a minimum of 110 pounds and be feeling healthy; they must not have donated in the past eight weeks. All donors must also provide valid identification.

Parental consent is required for 16-year-old donors.

For more information or to schedule a donation, call 1-800-B-A-DONOR (223-6667).