Buffalo Area Blood Banks Need Your Help This Summer

Summertime in the Empire State often means that we're thinking about all the fun in the sun we're set to have. However, the arrival of warmer weather also means that organizations and agencies dedicated to ensuring the people of Western New York have access to one of the most essential medical resources start to run short on supplies.

According to the American Red Cross, the United States is going through a terrible shortage of blood donations, and the supply has dropped at least 25% in just the last month, according to the Shelter Island Reporter.

To help bolster the supply in the Buffalo area, ConnectLife is ringing the alarm and asking the City of Good Neighbors to step up and help.

Buffalo's Blood Supply Hits Critically Low Levels

While the summer months normally mean that blood banks around the nation see a decrease in donations, due to more people being away from home and engaging in more activities, the supply in Western New York and around the nation has fallen to a level that has medical professionals extremely concerned.

The drop in summer donations comes at the worst time for local hospitals... All of the extra traffic from summer driving means more car accidents. And when a single accident victim can need up to a hundred pints of blood, that can drain supplies quickly, as we saw in the tragic thruway bus crash almost a year ago.
-Sarah Diina, ConnectLife's Senior Director of Communications & External Affairs

So far in July, donations are down by half; when you couple that with the typical increase in trauma events hospitals have to handle, you can imagine the trouble Western New York is facing. According to data from ConnectLife, the supply is down to just 70 units of blood, when the supply normally has several hundred in stock.

What Can We Do To Help The Blood Supply

As someone who has both donated blood and needed it, the primary thing that we can do in the Buffalo area is donate blood.

When people donate blood through ConnectLife, the blood stays right here in Western New York, and hospitals all over the 8-county region draw from the supply. What better way to exhibit that City of Good Neighbors mantra than to literally help your neighbors in an Emergency.

Plus, ConnectLife offered to give anyone who donates in the month of July a $10 Delta Sonic gift card, and you're entered into a raffle to win preseason Buffalo Bills tickets.

There are donation locations all over the region, including in Tonawanda, West Seneca, and Williamsville, and there are mobile donation sites that get set up around town daily. You can find out more info here on the ConnectLife website.