Rep. Curry, Senator Kearney Reach Blood Drive Goal, More than 90 Lives to Be Saved from Donations
Rep. Gina H. Curry February 17, 2022 | 9:05 AM
SPRINGFIELD, PA (February 15, 2022) – Rep. Gina H. Curry (D–Delaware) joined Senator Tim Kearney (D–Delaware/Chester) on Friday to host a blood drive at the East Lansdowne Borough Hall in response to the current blood crisis facing our nation.
Thanks to the overwhelming amount of volunteers who donated at the drive, 31 pints of blood were collected, surpassing the event goal of 20 pints, which will save the lives of 93 local hospital patients.
“The American Red Cross is facing a national blood shortage crisis,” said Rep. Curry. “This crisis is our crisis. The need is real! We are excited to have reached our blood donation goal. Let’s continue to do our part.”
“Given the dire need for blood in our country and our past success with blood drives, we knew hosting another drive would be the right thing to do,” said Senator Kearney. “We want to be a part of the solution and this event is one way that we can all step up and do our part.”
In January, the American Red Cross declared the nation’s first-ever blood crisis amid the Omicron Surge. Since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, the Red Cross has experienced a 10% decline in the number of people donating blood, forcing doctors to delay critical transfusion for people in need.
“The American Red Cross has been facing dire blood inventory challenges for several months now as a result of staffing limitations, continued blood drive cancellations, and decreased donor turnout,” stated Kristie Collins, Account Manager for the American Red Cross.” Despite our tireless efforts to reverse this trend, we continue to face our worst shortage in more than a decade, now further complicated by surging COVID-19 cases and winter weather. During this crisis, we are proud to partner with Senator Kearney and Re. Curry office to help save lives.”
According to the American Red Cross’ statistics on blood donations, one pint of blood can save up to three lives.
Blood donations are still needed to help alleviate the shortage. To learn more about donating or to schedule an appointment, please visit redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-REDCROSS.
For more information about this press release, contact Senator Tim Kearney’s office at 610-544-6120.