Blood Donations Needed

SALISBURY, Md. – Last week, WMDT’s Leila Weah checked in on the reopening of the Blood Bank of Delmarva.

This week, Tony Prado, communications specialist for the Blood Bank of Delmarva, said the organization still has work to do in securing two urgently needed blood types.

O-negative, the universal blood type, and O-positive, the most common blood type in the United States, are both in short supply.

Prado said they took an inventory Tuesday morning.

“This is the second week of the emergency, and two critical blood types are still in need. O-negative and O-positive are both at about three days, and we are trying to get to a seven-day supply for all blood types. The other types – A-positive, B-negative, B-positive, etc. – are right at seven or even a little more than seven,” he said.

Prado added that there is always room for walk-ins and strongly encouraged people to donate to support the community.

“If you look at appointments through the end of July and on through August and even into Sept. 2, the appointments are pretty much booked, with the exception of a handful. I would just say, similar to last week when I was there for the grand reopening, we had a number of walk-ins. So don’t let that discourage you if you’re looking to donate.”