SBPD to host blood drive Feb. 21

The pandemic has caused tight supplies of many things and that includes blood.  Blood donations have dropped dramatically since March of 2019 when Covid-19 spiked, not to mention a large number of blood drives have been canceled due to illness, weather and staffing limitations.

To help solve this problem the San Bernardino Police Department, in partnership with the American Red Cross, will be hosting a blood drive on Monday, February 21st from 8am – 2pm at the SBPD main station located at 710 N. D Street.

According to the American Red Cross, they are facing the worst blood shortage in over a decade, and blood supply levels are considered “critically low.”  The Red Cross, which supplies 40% of the nation’s blood supply, has had to limit blood product distributions to hospitals as a result of the shortage. In fact, some hospitals may not receive 1 in 4 blood products they need.

People interested in donating can give a pint of ‘whole blood’ or Power Red, which is a collection of red cells but returns most of the plasma and platelets to the donor. These donors must meet specific eligibility requirements and have type A Neg, B Neg, or O blood.

You can schedule an appointment online by visiting www.redcrossblood.org and entering sponsor code SBPD.