LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The American Red Cross is hosting a blood drive at the KFC Yum! Center this week.
There is large demand nationwide for blood, including in Louisville. Health leaders said the blood shortage affecting Kentucky and southern Indiana is getting dire as the concern shifts for those awaiting a transplant.
"If we don't have the necessary blood to do an organ transplant safely, we will either have to send the patient elsewhere, or we will not be able to accept the organs, and the organs will end up going elsewhere," said Dr. Christopher Jones, the medical director for Trager Transplant Center.
The Red Cross said trauma cases, organ transplants and elective surgeries are on the rise, all threatening the nation's blood supply.
“Traditionally during the summer, around holidays like Independence Day, blood donations often don’t keep pace with patient needs,” Cyndi Dahl, regional donor services executive for the Red Cross Kentucky Blood Services Region, said in a news release. “With the high number of trauma and emergency room visits our hospitals are responding to lately, the need for donors to give blood is far greater than this time last year."
The Stars, Stripes & Pints Blood Drive will run from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., daily, from July 6 to 8.
The Red Cross is looking for all kinds of blood types, especially type O. Those who give will receive free parking at any PARC garage, a Red Cross hat and one free ticket to King's Island or other Cedar Fair locations.
For more information, click here.
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