By KAYLA JOHNSON
For The Clarion News
PennWest Clarion University students, staff and the public turned out Nov. 28 to support an American Red Cross Blood Drive at the Gemmell Student Complex multipurpose room.
People eagerly lined up to support the cause and donate their blood. The schedule for the event was full of generous donors.
“Many volunteers signed up for the drive online but some are walk-ins,” said a volunteer.
The Red Cross holds about 500 blood drives a day to help those in hospitals all over the nation. In the past couple years there has been a critical shortage of type O blood in hospitals which is one of the reasons why these blood drives are so important.
The Red Cross has only partially recovered since then, as they still struggle to find a surplus of donors.
A spokeswoman with the Northwestern Pennsylvania Red Cross, said, “The shortage of donors is still largely affecting us as a company, but we are hoping to receive a decent amount of volunteers this winter.
“There is still a chance for those in need of blood and the Red Cross will hopefully pull through and acquire the donors they so desperately need this season.”
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