Blood Bank of Delmarva Senior Executive Director Patty Killeen, Medical Director Dr. Bruce Sachais and Communications Specialist Tony Prado, returned to discuss the urgent need for donations, as they join with the American Association of Blood Banks to ask the community to donate now. The facility is currently in crisis mode, as an example they noted they are expected just 800 units from area scheools through December, a number that had totaled 2,200 plu before the pandemic. Tony noted another troublig situation, despite the need for a diverse supply, Black donaors are dropping, from 6% to just 4.7% of donations now. Patients with chronic blood disorders, such as Sickle Cell and other diseases that affect ethnic populations, need closer and closer matches after time, and the blood banks must recruit a wider donor base to accomodate them. We discussed the ease of making a donation AND the offer of a T-Shirt for donations before the end of December.
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