2 Blood Drives In Cherry Hill Set For February

CHERRY HILL, NJ — The American Red Cross will hold two blood drives in Cherry Hill next month as it extends its call or donors of all blood types to give blood or platelets. The blood drives in Cherry Hill will take place as follows:

• 2/4/2020: 2 p.m. — 7 p.m., Congregation Sons of Israel, 720 Cooperlanding Road; and
• 2/7/2020: 8 a.m. — 1 p.m., The King's Christian School, 5 Carnegie Plaza

Another one will take place later this week at the Virtua Health and Wellness Center on Brace Road.

With influenza escalating across the country and preventing some donors from giving, and winter weather threatening to cancel blood drives, the Red Cross said it now has a critical shortage of type O blood and urgently needs donors to restock the shelves.

“Currently, the Red Cross has less than a three-day supply of type O blood available for patient emergencies and medical treatments,” the Red Cross said in a statement. “Type O positive blood is the most transfused blood type and can be given to Rh-positive patients of any blood type. While just 7 percent of the U.S. population has type O negative blood, it can be transfused to patients with any blood type and is what hospital staff reach for during emergencies when there isn’t time to determine a patient’s blood type.”

Donors of all blood types — especially types O positive and O negative — are urged to make an appointment to give blood or platelets now using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org, calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or enabling the Blood Donor Skill on any Alexa Echo device.