Kendall County Times

State Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield) is urging Illinois residents to give blood amid a growing blood supply shortage.

“Blood supplies are critically low in Illinois,” Batinick recently posted on Facebook. “If you are able, please consider donating blood this winter to help save lives across our state.”

ABC7 News reports hospitals have been forced to cancel surgeries because of the shortage.

“Our patients need blood transfusions daily,” Lurie Children’s Hospital nurse Lucas Wesoloski said.  

With January marking National Blood Donor Month, experts say the blood supply has dipped to record lows, with the pandemic leading to a 34 percent drop in new blood donors from the year before.

Hospital officials stress blood types of all kind, especially O blood, the most needed group, are critically needed to help hospitals stay afloat and meet daily demands.

The American Red Cross recently held blood donation drives across the state in hopes of addressing the issue.

“While some types of medical care can wait, others can’t,” said Dr. Pampee Young, chief medical officer of the Red Cross. “Hospitals are still seeing accident victims, cancer patients, those with blood disorders like sickle cell disease, and individuals who are seriously ill who all need blood transfusions to live even as Omicron cases surge across the country. We’re doing everything we can to increase blood donations to ensure every patient can receive medical treatments without delay, but we cannot do it without more donors. We need the help of the American people.”

Red Cross officials say the organization has experienced a 10% decrease in the number of people donating blood since the beginning of the pandemic.

In normal times, The Red Cross is counted on to supply some 40 percent of the country’s overall blood supply.