DAYTON, Ohio – It was critical for donors to fill the appointment schedule and fill the beds Friday, Feb. 19 at the Dayton CBC for the Urgent Need Blood Drive. Type O & Type B continue to be in short supply after episodes of winter weather in the past week that cancelled high school blood drives and caused many missed appointments.

CBC entered Friday with a full schedule of 180 whole blood appointments, including Beavercreek donor Bob Novak.  His timely donation Friday marked his 184^th lifetime donation, the equivalent of 23 gallons. Bob had a recent deferral attempting to reach the milestone, and he hesitated about trying again too soon.

“At first, I wasn’t going to come, Bob said. “But I read the article (about dangerously low blood supplies reported in the Dayton Daily News Feb. 17) and I said, ‘That’s alright I’ll give it a shot.’”

He’s committed to keep shooting for his milestone goals. “When I first started donating, I saw someone receiving a plaque for their 25-gallon donation,” Bob said. “I said, that’s my goal. I want to give 25 gallons. I’ve got 26 more donations to go.”

Community Blood Center is not alone in facing challenges this February.  A joint statement Thursday from the nation’s blood banks said:

“Severe winter storms bringing debilitating snow, ice and cold to much of the United States are causing widespread concern for the nation’s blood supply. Many blood centers have had to close their doors for multiple days due to power outages or weather conditions, resulting in a loss of more than 25,000 donations in February alone. In addition, transportation difficulties—including treacherous roads and closed airports—are further complicating the ability to transport life-saving blood to hospitals for patients in need.

“These weather-related challenges come at a time when the nation’s blood supply was already strained. Some blood centers are now reporting critically low inventories, and blood collection organizations across the country are working together to help meet the need as best they can.”

It helped CBC to have the support of sponsors who kept their mobile blood drives on schedule.  A key success was the uninterrupted St. Michael’s Hall blood drive on Tuesday, Feb.16. I stayed on schedule despite eight inches of snow in the Fort Loramie area and totaled 224 donors, accounting for most of the 323 donors across the region that day.

CBC anticipated trouble this week even before the Tuesday snow because of winter weather the previous week that cancelled high school blood drives. The plan was in place to make Friday, Feb. 18 at the Dayton CBC a “Donor Year” blood drive, and it became an “Urgent Need” blood drive as shortages of type O and increased.

Frigid weather remains in the forecast and CBC will continue to depend on donors. CBC is calling 2021 “Donor Year” and challenging those able to give at least three times in 2021.