Now is a good time to give blood. The need for blood remains constant – about 44,000 transfusions a day in the U.S. But Bobbi Snethen with the Badger Chapter of the American Red Cross says blood donors get harder to find. “we understand people are busy,” she says. “We get about twenty percent of our donations from high school and college blood drives, so when they’re out of session, that’s kind of an added ‘ask’ that we’re making to community members, for them to get out and donate blood.”
Not everyone can give blood, and those who do are providing a valuable service. “It is a pretty easy way to give back,” Snethen says. “Only about 38 percent of the population is eligible to give blood. Of those eligible only about eight percent do.” You can learn how to donate on-line.