Red Cross faces critical blood levels
By Kenneth Fine
Published in News on September 2, 2011 1:46 PM
Within a few weeks, most Wayne County residents will have moved beyond Hurricane Irene.
But local Red Cross officials fear the blood supply will not soon recover -- unless, of course, the public responds to the shortage caused by the storm.
"So far, we've lost 2,400 units (of blood)," said Kimberly Berrier, senior donor recruiter for the Wayne chapter of the American Red Cross. "And we don't necessarily feel it this week, but what's going to happen is, those 2,400 units ... that's going to hurt us about three weeks from now."
The shortage, she added, is a result of having to cancel blood drives -- 72 since Friday across the state -- because of Irene.
So in order to recover, officials are urging people to come out to one of the many drives now scheduled for later this month.
"This is going to be something we work on continuously for the next three, four, five weeks," Mrs. Berrier said. "There is no substitute for blood. It's a constant need all the time."
The following blood drives are currently on the books. For more information, contact the Red Cross at 735-7201.
* Saturday -- 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Lowe's.
* Sept. 6 -- 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Wayne Community College
* Sept. 6 -- 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at St. Stephens Episcopal Church
* Sept. 9 -- 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base
* Sept. 13 -- 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Mount Olive College
* Sept. 13 -- 1:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Red Cross, at 600 N. George St.
* Sept. 14 -- 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Spring Creek High School
* Sept. 15 -- Noon to 4:30 p.m. at Chili's of Goldsboro
* Sept. 19 -- 1:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Wayne Christian School
* Sept. 20 -- 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Goldsboro High School
* Sept. 20 -- 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Democko Chiropractic of Goldsboro
* Sept. 26 -- 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Sam's Club
* Sept. 29 -- 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Public Works Maintenance Center
* Sept. 29 -- 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at O'Berry Center
* Sept. 29 -- 7:30 a.m. 4:30 p.m. at TIC Progress Energy.