American Red Cross offering incentives for donations during their 'blood crisis alert'

Garret Roberts, Beaver County Times
·2 min read

PITTSBURGH — While donating blood can be a daunting experience for some people, new incentives may encourage those wary of needles to schedule an appointment and save lives.

The American Red Cross is continuing to encourage the public to donate blood and platelets in the coming weeks, with the organization offering various incentives for donations in January and February. Recent winter weather across the country and surges in COVID-19 have created one of the worst blood shortages in over a decade, so many hospitals and medical centers are in need of more blood for life saving procedures.

Blood donations remain low, causing many hospitals to remain low on their resources for important medical procedures.
Blood donations remain low, causing many hospitals to remain low on their resources for important medical procedures.

Until Jan. 31, those who donate blood or platelets can expect a sweet treat from Krispy Kreme Donuts for their support. Donors will be eligible for a free dozen of the bakery's Original Glaze donuts after their blood is drawn, with participants exchanging their donation stickers for the box of sweets or by showing their digital card in the Red Cross Blood Donor App while at the store.

Incentives will also be available from Feb. 1 to 28, with donors receiving a $10 Amazon gift card in their email after donating. Those who donate in February are only eligible for one gift card during this promotional campaign.

According to the Red Cross, the recent weather and surge of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 have caused 6,500 donations to go uncollected in January. This comes after the organization issued it's first ever "blood crisis alert" due to dwindling supplies of blood for surgeries and other medical procedures.

Those wishing to set up an appointment for donation or find sites near them are encouraged to use the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit their website online at RedCrossBlood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) to schedule a donation.

Garret Roberts is the local Public Priority reporter for The Beaver County Times. He can be contacted at groberts1@gannett.com and can be followed on Twitter at @ReportedRoberts.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: American Red Cross offering incentives for blood donations during shortage