January is National Blood Donor Month. Here in Illinois, the winter months often put stress on local hospitals because supplies run low. Every two seconds, a patient needs blood and across the nation there is a vast network of more than 600-plus donation centers. Blood supplies are typically chronically-low and only 40 percent of medical facilities are equipped with a one or two day supply of blood.
America’s Blood Centers is a national non-for-profit which aims to educate the public about the donation process. To learn more about the nation’s blood supply visit; www.americasblood.org.
In Illinois, some of the major donation organizations are; Heartland Blood Centers and Life Source (Cook & Collar Counties), Rock River Valley Blood Center (Northern Counties), Central Illinois Blood Centers (Western & Central Counties), Missouri-Illinois American Red Cross (Central and Southern Counties), and River Valley American Red Cross (Southeastern Illinois). The American Red Cross also provides services to several other areas in Illinois, to learn more visit; www.redcrossblood.org.