Did you know January is National Blood Donor month? Neither did I. Well… until I got a text from LifeSouth telling me they were in critical need of blood. There is currently a nationwide shortage of blood supply, prompting donation centers to reach out to the community for whirlwind donations.

According to the American Red Cross, blood shortage had reached its worst in the last decade, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, and is currently in the worst stage since the beginning of the pandemic. They have now declared this as their “first-ever blood crisis”. Doctors are having to make the life altering choice of who gets a blood transfusion over the other. Some hospitals are even having to limit blood heavy elective surgery. Since March 2020, declines in overall blood donations reached 10%, while there is a 62% decline in high school and college blood drives.

For National Blood Donor Month, Red Cross is partnering with the NFL to give blood donors a chance to win two Super Bowl LVI tickets as well as other sweepstakes.

We need YOUR help to donate blood! Most students at Bob Jones opt to not donate blood, even if they meet the requirements. Please help out if possible, as you can save upwards to three lives with your donation. The school’s biannual blood drive is hosted by LifeSouth and often gives a free t-shirt as a donor gift.

Below are organizations where you can donate:

American Red Cross

https://www.redcrossblood.org/

1015 Airport Rd SW #202, Huntsville, AL 35802

LifeSouth

https://www.lifesouth.org/

12060 County Line Rd STE F, Madison, AL 35756

8190 Madison Blvd, Madison, AL 35758