Local blood banks are asking for donors to help keep the blood supply at the needed level during the summer months. Dana Garner, with the Community Blood Center, says high school and college students are active donors, but in the summer many of them aren’t available.
“Summer, we have a dip in blood donations. Like many people, there are vacations, a lot of the students at colleges and high schools are out of session. Because they’re not available, we rely on people from the community, businesses, to help support the blood supply,” Garner says.
Speaking Thursday during a blood drive at the Kansas Statehouse, Garner says it takes around 580 donors per day to keep the blood supply at the needed level in Kansas and Missouri.
“Right now, we’re still doing OK, but we have to maintain that every day. If we have a bad collection day tomorrow and the next day, then we’re not going to be able to supply the hospitals and the patients,” she says.
