Amid National Blood Shortage, Cedars-Sinai Blood Donation Expert Available for Interviews
WHAT
Cedars-Sinai is urging eligible Angelenos to donate blood this month amid a national blood supply crisis. Blood donation expert Armando Romero is available for interviews to discuss the current shortage, why summer is a challenging time for maintaining the blood supply and how donating blood saves lives.
WHO
Armando Romero, associate director of Transfusion Medicine at Cedars-Sinai, can discuss why blood donations are especially critical this summer, how the donation process works and who is eligible to donate.
WHY
Earlier this summer, the American Red Cross reported a four-year summer low and the second-ever national blood supply crisis. Because students are a significant percentage of the donor base and schools are not in session, summer is traditionally a time when blood donations decline. At the same time, it’s a busy travel season and extreme heat can discourage participation in community blood drives. Hospitals depend on blood supplies to save lives, and blood donations are especially critical during the summer, when traumatic injuries increase. Every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood. At Cedars-Sinai, a Level 1 trauma center, patients need more than 60,000 units of blood each year.
WHEN
Armando Romero is available for immediate interviews.
WHERE
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, 8700 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles. Interviews also are available via Zoom.
TO ARRANGE AN INTERVIEW
Kristin Reynolds | 424-241-8108 | [email protected]
TO DONATE BLOOD
The public is invited to donate blood at Cedars-Sinai. Call 310-423-5346 to schedule an appointment or select a time here.