The Star & Community Blood Center are hosting a blood drive on Tuesday. Will you join us?
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Blood shortage in KC
The Star is working to bring awareness about a dangerously low number of blood donations around Kansas City. The newspaper will host a drive with the Community Blood Center on Tuesday, Jan. 24.
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The Kansas City Star is hosting a blood drive in partnership with the Community Blood Center on Jan. 24, and we need readers like you to donate.
Kansas City has been in a blood shortage for around three years, ever since the start of the pandemic, according to the Community Blood Center. That means the Blood Center isn’t collecting enough blood to support those in need at hospitals in the area, such as the University of Kansas Health System.
Now, the “triple-demic” of COVID, the flu and RSV are worsening the blood shortage, not necessarily because the people getting sick from those diseases need more blood, but because when people are sick, they are unable to donate blood.
The Blood Center has seen an increase in canceled appointments from much needed donors because of these illnesses.
Lately, the Community Blood Center has only had one to two days’ worth of each blood type stocked and available on its shelves, when they need seven to 10 days’ worth.
What this means is that as soon as the blood comes in, the Blood Center is processing it and sending it right back out to a hospital that needs it. There is no surplus of blood available.
“If donors stopped coming in this week, we would have no blood to give to our hospitals,” said Chelsey Smith, outreach and communications coordinator with Community Blood Center. “We don’t have any wiggle room right now.”
The blood drive is a part of The Star’s ongoing efforts to engage with and support our community. Last month, we hosted two free holiday portrait events for families and are currently undertaking a listening project to shape our coverage of local governments and institutions.
How to sign up for The Star’s blood drive
The blood drive is from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Jan. 24 in the first floor conference room at 2460 E. Pershing Road on the east side fo the Crown Center complex, across from the coffee shop Spokes.
The Star will provide parking vouchers for all donors. You can take a ticket and park in the Crown Center structure, and you will receive a voucher to use on the way out.
You can sign up for an appointment using this link, or go to savealifenow.org/group and enter the group code: 4K. Each appointment is scheduled to take 15 minutes.
If you can’t make it on Jan. 24, you can donate any time during the week of Jan. 21-29 at any of the Community Blood Center locations. You can be entered into a drawing to win an Apple or Google watch if you use The Star’s group code “4K”
Community Blood Center locations are all over the region:
Olathe Entertainment District, 16465 W. 119th St.
Times Square Shopping Center, 10568 Metcalf Ave., Overland Park
6220 SW 29th St., Topeka
1124 SW US Hwy 40, Blue Springs
7265 N. Oak Trafficway, Gladstone
4040 Main St., Kansas City
3122 Frederick Ave., St. Joseph
You can sign up to donate at any of these sites here at donor.savealifenow.org.
This story was originally published January 4, 2023 at 6:00 AM.
