The American Red Cross is hosting a “Battle of the Badges” blood drive in Salina from Monday, August 26 to Wednesday, August 28. The event will take place at Sunrise Presbyterian Church, located at 825 E. Beloit.
Today is the last day blood donations will be accepted for the "Battle of the Badges" blood drive. Stop by Sunrise Presbyterian today from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Donors can schedule appointments by visiting RedCrossBlood.org and entering the code “Salina.”
Those who donate blood in August will receive a $20 Amazon.com gift card.
The Red Cross is urging eligible donors to give blood as there is a constant need for blood.
Weather in recent weeks has added to the summer shortfall in donations by forcing the cancellation of nearly 60 blood drives throughout the country, many of which were caused by Debby, causing approximately 1,500 lifesaving blood products to go uncollected.
Annually, severe weather − such as blizzards, tornadoes, floods and hurricanes − impacts about 90,000 blood donations made to the Red Cross. In Kansas, 167 of blood drives have been canceled due toweather over the last 10 years, including 29 so far this year.
This has resulted in over 650 donations going uncollected in the Kansas-Oklahoma region to date in 2024. Because blood has a short shelf life and can only come from volunteer blood donors, any disruptions in the ability to collect lifesaving blood can have serious consequences for hospitals and patients.