Nationwide Winter Storm Contributes to Reduction in Blood Donations

Only 3% of all eligible adults donate blood every year. Throw in a pandemic, and that number shrinks. Now, add a winter storm.

The Red Cross was already struggling to host blood drives due to the social distancing requirements. Now, due to the terrible weather conditions that plagued almost the entire country last week, the Red Cross has seen fewer and fewer volunteers. The biggest decreases come from states not equipped to handle winter conditions.

The Red Cross hopes to make up for those losses by hosting socially distant and safe blood drives. Locations are found all around Minnesota and are listed on the Red Cross website.