MILWAUKEE — Dorian’s destruction left a trail of destruction from the Bahamas to the Carolinas not only affecting homes and neighborhoods, but also creating a shortage of blood, and although the storm may be over, the devastation remains. At least 40 people are dead, hundreds are missing, and thousands are without homes.
“The devastation is going to be something that’s going to take months to recover from,” Justin Kern, communications officer for the American Red Cross Wisconsin Region, said.
Hurricane Dorian forced blood donation centers to close while canceling blood drives in its path —leading to hundreds of uncollected blood donations.
“The need for blood is constant, but when we have something like Dorian and when we have to cancel 100 blood drives in the southeast US, it really ramps up that need,” Kern said.
The American Red Cross Wisconsin region is urging people not affected by Hurricane Dorian to donate blood —type o and b blood donors especially because when blood donations are disrupted in one region of the country, the red cross is able to move local donations where they’re needed most.
