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Red Cross offers donor rewards through Nov. 22 as blood stocks remain strained
The American Red Cross is offering donors up to $20 in gift cards as it tries to rebuild supplies ahead of the winter holidays. The organization says summer donations hit a four-year low and type O blood inventories remain under pressure.
The American Red Cross is offering gift-card rewards to people who donate blood through Nov. 22, as the organization works to shore up supplies before the winter holiday period.
The promotion began Oct. 22. Donors can receive a $10 Amazon gift card and 500 Blood Donor Rewards points, which can be exchanged for an electronic gift card; the Red Cross values the total incentive at up to $20.
The organization declared its second national blood supply crisis this year after donations over the summer fell to a four-year low. It said supplies of type O blood, the most commonly transfused blood type, were especially strained, prompting limits on distributions to hospitals.
“Donors of all blood types, especially those with type O blood, are needed to keep the blood supply steady ahead of the holiday rush,” the Red Cross said in an Oct. 21 announcement. Its biomedical services president, Chris Hrouda, said this summer donations were not keeping pace with hospital demand and urged eligible people to schedule appointments.
The Red Cross also plans to provide free A1C testing in November. The test is commonly used to screen for prediabetes and diabetes. The organization has not specified where the testing will be available.
The Red Cross says it added safeguards after the country’s first-ever national blood crisis in 2022, but this summer’s shortfall again left inventories under significant strain. Donation and appointment information for Illinois is available through the organization’s website.