The American Red Cross is facing a shortage of blood. Lee Jenkins has more.
In a situation similar to last year, the Red Cross is facing a 10 percent nationwide decrease in blood donation, leaving them 50,000 donation short of their projections. According to the Communications Director of Eastern North Carolina's Red Cross, Autum Mihm, summer vacations for students have contributed to the drop in donations.
"We do a lot of high school and college blood drives. The actually account for about 20 percent of donations during the school year, so when school's not in session, those numbers drop."
If the Red Cross cannot compensate for this dip in supply, it may not be able to meet the incredibly high demand for blood, as someone in the U.S. needs blood every two seconds. To meet this demand, they are urging people to attend drives and donate. For more information on donating blood and a list of blood drives in the region, you can go online at redcrossblood.org. I'm Lee Jenkins.