Blood Donations are Desperately Needed, Here is Where to Donate

With an influx of patients into medical care facilities, and people trying to stay home and avoid crowds as much as possible, the American Red Cross is seeing a severe blood shortage. Kare 11 reported that nearly 4,500 blood drives have been cancelled nationwide, including 117 in the Minnesota and Dakotas. The cancelled blood drives has resulted in roughly 3,800 fewer donations in our region.

The US Surgeon General issued a statement on Twitter via the Red Cross account that said:

You can still go out and give blood. Social distancing doesn't mean social disengagement.

The shelf life of blood donations is about six weeks, so there needs to be a continuous stream of people donating to keep up with needs.

Here are some places you can give blood if you are healthy and able to:

St. Cloud Blood Donation Center

Hours:
Monday - Wednesday: 11 am - 7 pm
Thursday: 9:30 am - 5:30 pm
Friday-Sunday: 7 am - 3 pm

Milaca-Pease Pop Up

117 W Main St
Pease, MN 56363

Blood Drive March 25th 08:30 AM - 01:30 PM

Camp Ripley

15000 Highway 115
Little Falls, MN 56345

Blood Drive March 26th 08:00 AM - 02:00 PM

Fairview Northland Hospital

911 Northland Drive
Princeton, MN 55371

Blood Drive March 27th 11:00 AM - 04:00 PM

St. Boniface Catholic Church Parish Center

501 West Main Street
Cold Spring, MN 56320

Blood Drive April 6th from 1 pm - 7 pm

Know of a blood drive in Central Minnesota we should add to the list? Email it to abbey@minnesotasnewcountry.com.