Need for blood even greater in wake of coronavirus says Red Cross

FOX 2 - The Red Cross says right now there's a blood shortage and they're also stocking up in case people have to stay home because of concerns with coronavirus.

Across metro Detroit the Red Cross is doing blood drives to get ready. On Tuesday blood donors stopped by the Commerce Township Community Library. 

Each person there will save three lives. The Red Cross says they need donations now more than ever.

"It's even more of an impact now we are coming out of the flu season - and this was a worse flu season than ever and our supply has been impacted greatly from that," said Shannon Sieffert, account manager for the American Red Cross.

But this blood drive isn't just for the flu.

"With the recent corona virus we are putting implementations in place to ensure the blood supply is still needed and it is still safe to donate blood," Sieffert said.

The Red Cross says there is no data suggesting the coronavirus is transmitted through blood. Now they are encouraging the community to give an hour of their time- and blood, that will save someone's life.

"We want to make sure we have the supply on hand because we want to continue to make sure everyone in the hospital who needs blood has it," said Sieffert.

If you want to donate to the Red Cross, call 1-800-RED-CROSS or 1-800-733-2767 or online, go to redcross.org