Donated blood is needed in a wide variety of emergency situations, from blood loss due to bleeding, surgery or medical procedures to medical conditions that prevent the body from producing new blood cells. According to the ConnectLife website, without life-saving blood transfusions, about 4.5 million Americans would die each year.

Amanda Farrell, director of donor recruitment at ConnectLife, the sole supplier of blood products for Bradford Regional Medical Center and Olean (N.Y.) General Hospital, said that due to increased surgeries and traumas, the need for donated blood has gone up by 10%. While the need for donated blood has gone up, the number of actual donations is down, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The fact that many businesses and schools are still remote is impacting the ability to have mobile blood drives, which is resulting in fewer donors,” she explained. “There is no substitute for donation blood — and it only has a shelf life of 42 days, so the need is constant.”

ConnectLife will be holding a blood drive from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. this Wednesday at Bradford Regional Medical Center. Those not able to attend need not worry, for they can make an appointment by contacting the ConnectLife office at 716-529-4270. In under an hour, a person can save up to three lives.

Anyone who is in good health and over the age of 16 is eligible to donate.

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