N.H. Fire-EMS Department Sponsors Blood Drive

Feb. 10--LEBANON, Maine -- The Lebanon Fire and Rescue EMS will be hosting a blood drive after recent wintery weather had led to low donation levels.

According to Mary Brant, communication manager for the northern New England region for American Red Cross, 380 blood drives were shut down across the country after the January and February snowfalls. This led to the organization being 16,000 blood units, where a unit is a pint of blood, below where it needs to be to service the 2,600 hospitals and blood transfusion centers the Red Cross partners with.

Brant said the winter and summer months are typically when shortages occur due to college students, who are the most active blood donors, going on holiday. To service the New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont area region Brant is responsible for, the organization needs to produce 700 units to give to 78 hospitals. Brant said local donations go to local hospitals first, and then sent to places that are experiencing shortages.

"The problem is that blood is extremely perishable; blood has a shelf life of 42 days, and platelets only have a shelf life of five days, so when we fall behind, it becomes even more critical to keep a blood supply going," Brant said.

The blood drive will take place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Feb. 13 at Station 2 in Lebanon, Maine. The station is located at 1524 Carl Broggi Hwy in Lebanon.

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