Emergency Need For Blood Donors In Maryland

BALTIMORE, MD — American Red Cross officials have issued an emergency call for blood donations to replenish a dwindling blood supply at hospitals nationwide after the long Fourth of July weekend. Currently blood donations are being distributed to hospitals faster than donations are coming in, the agency said, and Maryland blood donors are needed to help.

Fewer blood donors and blood drives last week have escalated the Red Cross call for all blood and platelet donors to meet hospital needs. More than 450 fewer blood drives were held than during a typical week the week of July 4 which may have led to as many as 17,000 fewer blood donations. (Find planned blood drives scheduled across Maryland below.)

“Blood transfusions are one of the most common hospital procedures and blood donors play a critical role in ensuring there are enough products on the shelves to help patients in need,” said Dr. Pampee Young, chief medical officer, American Red Cross, in a news release. “Each day, kids battling cancer, accident victims being raced to the emergency room and mothers experiencing complicated childbirths rely on lifesaving blood. We need the public’s help today to ensure we have enough blood to meet these dire needs.”

Schedule your blood donation appointment by visiting RedCrossBlood.org.

The Red Cross has added about 8,000 appointments at blood donation centers and blood drives across the country in the coming weeks to handle more donors. You can find a blood drive in your area by using the free Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org or calling 1-800-REDCROSS (1-800-733-2767). Or, open the Red Cross Blood skill on an Alexa-enabled device with a selection of prompts such as, “Alexa, open Red Cross Blood Skill” and ask, for example, “Alexa, find a blood drive.”

Scheduled blood donations sites in the stat include:

Friday, July 12, 2019

• Kentland Community Center - Battle of the Badges, 2413 Pinebrook Ave., Hyattsville, 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
• Rockville Blood Donation Center, 11820 Parklawn Drive, Suite 510, Rockville, MD, 7:00 AM - 3:00 PM
• Baltimore Mt Hope Blood Donation Center, 4700 Mt Hope Drive, Baltimore, 7:00 AM - 3:00 PM
• Central Presbyterian Church, 7308 York Road, Towson, 1:00 PM - 6:00 PM
• Timonium Blood Donation Center, 2405 York Road, Suite 300, Lutherville, 7:00 AM - 3:00 PM
• Johns Hopkins Hospital-Turner Concourse, 720 Rutland Avenue, Baltimore, 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM
• Chesapeake Urology Associates, 2 Park Center, Suite 1, Owings Mills, 10:00 AM - 3:30 PM
• American Legion Post 128, 44 N. Parke St., Aberdeen, 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM
• Columbia Blood Donation Center, 10400 Little Patuxent Parkway Suite 400, Columbia, 7:00 AM - 3:00 PM
• Odenton Volunteer Fire Company, 1425 Annapolis Road, Odenton, 10:30 AM - 4:00 PM

Saturday, July 13, 2019

• Rockville Blood Donation Center, 11820 Parklawn Drive, Suite 510, Rockville, MD, 7:00 AM - 3:00 PM
• Baltimore Mt Hope Blood Donation Center, 4700 Mt Hope Drive, Baltimore, 7:00 AM - 3:00 PM
• Timonium Blood Donation Center, 2405 York Road, Suite 300, Lutherville, 7:00 AM - 3:00 PM
• Hunt Valley Inn, 245 Shawan Road Hunt Valley, 9:00 AM - 2:30 PM
• Columbia Blood Donation Center, 10400 Little Patuxent Parkway Suite 400, Columbia, 7:00 AM - 3:00 PM
• Bowie Senior Center, 14900 Health Center Dr Bowie, 8:30 AM - 12:30 PM

Sunday, July 14, 2019

• Rockville Blood Donation Center, 11820 Parklawn Drive, Suite 510, Rockville, MD, 7:00 AM - 3:00 PM
• Baltimore Mt Hope Blood Donation Center, 4700 Mt Hope Drive, Baltimore, 7:00 AM - 3:00 PM
• Timonium Blood Donation Center, 2405 York Road, Suite 300, Lutherville, 7:00 AM - 3:00 PM
• Chestnut Ridge Volunteer Fire Company, 12020 Greenspring Ave., Owings Mills, 8:30 AM - 2:00 PM
• Columbia Blood Donation Center, 10400 Little Patuxent Parkway Suite 400, Columbia, 7:00 AM - 3:00 PM
• Baltimore Orioles - Columbia Gym, 6151 Day Long Lane, Clarksville, 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM

Monday, July 15, 2019

• Rockville Blood Donation Center, 11820 Parklawn Drive, Suite 510, Rockville, MD, 7:00 AM - 3:00 PM
• Hughes United Methodist Church, 10700 Georgia Ave., Wheaton, MD, 2:00 PM - 8:00 PM
• Baltimore Mt Hope Blood Donation Center, 4700 Mt Hope Drive, Baltimore, Noon - 8:00 PM
• Timonium Blood Donation Center, 2405 York Road, Suite 300, Lutherville, Noon - 8 PM
• University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Medical Center, 500 Upper Chesapeake Drive, Bel Air, 10:30 AM - 4:00 PM
• Columbia Blood Donation Center, 10400 Little Patuxent Parkway Suite 400, Columbia, Noon - 8:00 PM

Tuesday, July 16, 2019

• Greater Chesapeake Region, 4800 Mt. Hope Drive, Baltimore, 8:00 AM - 1:30 PM
• Knights of Columbus - Patapsco #1960, 1010 Frederick Road, Catonsville, 3:00 PM - 7:30 PM
• Timonium Blood Donation Center, 2405 York Road, Suite 300, Lutherville, 12:00 PM - 8:00 PM
• Mountain Christian Church, 1824 Mountain Road, Joppa, 1:00 PM - 7:00 PM
• Columbia Blood Donation Center, 10400 Little Patuxent Parkway Suite 400, Columbia, Noon - 8:00 PM

Thursday, July 18, 2019

• MD State Dept. of Agriculture, 50 Harry S. Truman Parkway, Annapolis, 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM
• Magothy River Middle, 241 Peninsula Farm Road, Arnold, 10:00 AM - 3:30 PM

Friday, July 19, 2019

• Bulle Rock Fitness and Aquatic Center, 1200 Bulle Rock Parkway, Havre de Grace, 12:30 PM - 6:00 PM

Saturday, July 20, 2019

• Susquehanna Hose Company, 911 Revolution St., Havre de Grace, 8:00 AM - 1:30 PM

All blood types are needed to help ensure a sufficient blood supply is available for patients – especially type O negative and positive donors.

• Type O negative is the universal blood type and what emergency room personnel reach for when there is no time to determine the blood type of patients in the most serious situations.
• Type O positive is the most common blood type and can be transfused to Rh-positive patients of any blood type.

Eligible donors with types O negative and positive are asked to make a Power Red donation, where available. Power Red donors give a concentrated dose of red blood cells during a single donation, allowing them to maximize their impact.

Anyone who is 17 years old in most states (16 with parental consent where allowed by state law), weighs at least 110 pounds and is in generally good health may be eligible to donate blood. High school students and other donors 18 years of age and younger also have to meet certain height and weight requirements.