This harsh winter is hurting agencies who depend on blood donations.
A spokesperson for the NY-Penn region of the American Red Cross says, in this region alone, the Red Cross needs to make up about 1,000 units of blood to keep up with the need.
The snowy and cold weather has caused donations to go down because of several reasons. Fewer people are going out to blood drives when it is more difficult to travel. Also, the Red Cross holds a lot of blood drives at high schools and local businesses. When those places are closed because of the weather, the blood drives are cancelled.
A steady stream of people gave blood at the donation center in Liverpool today, and frequent donors are encouraging people to consider donating blood this time of year.
"It may take you a little longer to get here, but in the long run, it's important," says Bernie Guinto, who donates platelets every two weeks. "The people need what you're giving, the blood, the platelets, the plasma. Whatever you can do, whenever you can get here, is good."
Patrick Pacini feels the same way.
"It doesn't cost anything, and it helps people," he says. "I'm healthy. I'm able to donate. It's great."
Workers at the donation center say there is currently a shortage of blood, and all types of blood are needed. It takes about an hour to donate blood and two hours to donate platelets.
Anyone interested in donating can go to Redcrosscny.org for more information.
