National Blood Donor Month has been celebrated since 1970 with the goal of increasing blood and platelet donations during winter, one of the most difficult times of year to collect enough blood products to meet patient needs.
For that reason, the San Diego Blood Bank is celebrating National Blood Donor Month throughout January.
People who donate at any San Diego Blood Bank donor center or mobile blood drive through Jan. 25 will receive a limited-edition “Yeti or Not, Make a Difference” long-sleeved T-shirt while sizes and supplies last.
“Blood is unique in our healthcare system,” San Diego Blood Bank chief executive officer Doug Morton said in a statement. “There is no substitute, and it cannot be synthetically made so volunteer blood donations are the only way to provide blood to hospital patients in need.”
The American Red Cross says that it is teetering on the edge of a blood shortage, which could lead to “a disruption in lifesaving care.”
“The Red Cross blood supply is under pressure following a busy holiday season when winter weather and packed schedules made it even tougher to ensure hospitals have the blood products needed for critical care,” the American Red Cross said in a statement.
“Without immediate action, doctors may have to make difficult decisions about which patients receive blood transfusions and who will need to wait. Donors with types O, A negative and B negative blood are especially needed now.”
Someone needs blood every two seconds in the United States, and one in seven patients entering a hospital requires blood transfusions, officials said. This ranges “from trauma victims to patients battling sickle cell disease, anemia, or to ensure a successful organ or bone marrow transplant,” according to the blood bank.
Cancer patients use a quarter of all blood donations, and blood transfusions are needed in one out of every 83 newborn deliveries in America Monday. One blood donation could save up to three lives.
Eligible donors must be at least 17, weigh at least 110 pounds, and be in general good health. Appointments are encouraged and available by going to sandiegobloodbank.org or by calling (619) 400-8251. Walk- ins are welcome.
The following are upcoming blood donation opportunities affiliated with the Red Cross through Jan. 31 in San Diego County:
Bonsall:
- Jan. 16, 8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m., Bonsall High School, 7350 Lilac Road
Cardiff-by-the-Sea:
- Jan. 15, noon – 6 p.m., The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 1444 Lake Drive
- Jan. 26, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., Encinitas Elks Lodge 2243, 1393 Windsor Road
Carlsbad:
- Jan. 9, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., Shoppes at Carlsbad, 2525 El Camino Real
- Jan. 20, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., Bermuda Club Carlsbad, 5840 El Camino Real
- Jan. 23, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., Shoppes at Carlsbad, 2525 El Camino Real
- Jan. 27, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., North Coast Church Carlsbad Campus, 2310 Camino Vida Roble, #104
Chula Vista:
- Jan. 13, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., Springhill Suites by Marriott Chula Vista/Eastlake, 870 District Pl
- Jan. 15, 10:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., Chula Vista Presbyterian Church, 940 Hilltop Drive
- Jan. 19, 1 p.m. – 7 p.m., Chula Vista Elks Lodge, 901 Elks Lane
- Jan. 19, noon – 6 p.m., Novo Brazil Brewing CO Otay Ranch, 2015 Birch Road
- Jan. 21, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., Eastlake Church, 2355 Otay Lakes Road
- Jan. 26, 1 p.m. – 7 p.m., Chula Vista Elks Lodge, 901 Elks Lane
El Cajon:
- Jan. 8, noon – 6 p.m., Rancho San Diego Library, 11555 Via Rancho San Diego
Encinitas:
- Jan. 7, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., San Dieguito United Methodist Church, 170 Calle Magdalena
- Jan. 12, 8 a.m. – 2 p.m., Scripps Memorial Hospital 310 Building, 354 Santa Fe Drive
- Jan. 30, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., Encinitas Library, 540 Cornish Drive
Escondido:
- Jan. 18, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., North County Mall, 272 E. Via Rancho Parkway
- Jan. 20, 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., Escondido Charter High School, 1868 E Valley Parkway
- Jan. 25, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., North County Mall, 272 E. Via Rancho Parkway
Fallbrook:
- Jan. 6, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Fallbrook Library, 124 S. Mission Road
- Jan. 12, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., Christ the King Lutheran Church, 1620 S Stage Coach Lane
La Jolla:
- Jan. 26, 1 p.m. – 7 p.m., La Jolla / Riford Library, 7555 Draper Ave.
- Jan. 28, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., UCSD Price Center, 9500 Gillman Drive
La Mesa:
- Jan 12, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., La Mesa Community Center, 4975 Memorial Drive
Oceanside:
- Jan. 8, 8 a.m. – 3 p.m., Oceanside Masonic Center, 511 Eucalyptus
- Jan. 13, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., Oceanside First Presbyterian Church, 2001 El Camino Real
- Jan. 19, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., VA San Diego Healthcare Oceanside, 1300 Rancho Del Oro Drive
- Jan. 22, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., Courtyard by Marriott San Diego Oceanside, 3501 Seagate Way
- Jan. 22, 8 a.m. – 3 p.m., Oceanside Masonic Center, 511 Eucalyptus
Ramona:
- Jan. 27, 8 a.m. – 2 p.m., Ramona High School, 1401 Hanson Lane
San Diego:
- Red Cross Kearny Mesa Blood Donation Center, 4229 Ponderosa Ave., Suite C, See RedCrossBlood.org for hours
- Jan. 6, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., The Salvation Army Kroc Center Admin Building, 6845 University Ave.
- Jan. 6, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., VA Kearny Mesa, 8875 Aero Drive
- Jan. 7, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., Hyatt Regency Mission Bay Spa and Marina, 1441 Quivira Road
- Jan. 8, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., College-Rolando Branch Library, 6600 Montezuma Road
- Jan. 11, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., San Diego Harley-Davidson Morena, 4645 Morena Blvd.
- Jan. 14, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., San Diego Public Library – Central Library, 330 Park Blvd.
- Jan. 14, 11:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., Mission Hills – Hillcrest / Knox Library, 215 W Washington St
- Jan. 15, noon – 6 p.m., AVA Pacific Beach, 3883 Ingraham St.
- Jan. 20, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., Pacific Highlands Ranch Library, 12911 Pacific Place
- Jan. 27, 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., National University, 9388 Lightwave
- Jan. 29, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., VA San Diego Healthcare System, 3350 La Jolla Village Drive
San Marcos:
- Jan. 13, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., The Lodge at Lake San Marcos, 1105 La Bonita Drive
Santee:
- Jan. 29, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., Summit Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 8778 Cottonwood Ave.
Vista:
- Jan. 7, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Avalon, 701 Breeze Hill Road
- Jan. 21, noon – 6 p.m., Vista Library, 700 Eucalyptus Ave.
Further information on donating blood through the Red Cross can be found at RedCrossBlood.org, contacting 1-800-733-2767 or downloading the American Red Cross Blood Donor Application.
