A severe blood shortage across the country is also affecting the Upstate, and the American Red Cross is asking for people to donate at blood drives near them to combat the shortage.
Mandy McWherter, the Regional Communications Manager for the Red Cross of South Carolina said the shortage is coming from a recent increase in medical situations such as trauma cases and elective surgeries.
“In the state of South Carolina, we have distributed 600 more units of blood between March and May of this year than we did in 2020,” McWherter said. “And what we attribute the shortage to this time around is there’s been an abnormally high number of trauma cases, organ transplants, and elective surgeries on the rise, which has depleted the nation’s blood inventory.”
The Red Cross is asking people to donate blood at blood drives happening around the state this month.
In the Upstate, there are two upcoming blood drives this month:
• Thursday, July 1st, Good Shepherd Catholic Church, 1401 Greenwood Highway, 10 A.M. to 3 P.M.
• Wednesday, July 7th, Goodwill Industries of Upstate/Midlands, 115 Haywood Road, Greenville, 10 A.M. to 3 P.M.
• Friday, July 9th, American Legion Post 113 of Pendleton, 301 Lebanon Road, Pendleton, 11 A.M. to 4 P.M.
• Monday, July 12th, Simpsonville City Park, 198 Park Drive, Simpsonville, 11 A.M. to 3 P.M.
• Wednesday, July 14th, Lakeside Lodge, 13500 Clemson Blvd, Seneca, 10 A.M. to 2 P.M.
• Monday, July 26th, American Red Cross Center, 940 Grove Road, Greenville, 10 A.M. to 2 P.M.
You can find other blood drives near you at redcrossblood.org/give.
McWherter said that whether you have had the COVID vaccine or not does not affect whether you can give blood at any of their blood drives.
As long as you are healthy, you can donate.
