Several blood types are in critical need
MARQUETTE -- The U.P. Regional Blood Center in Marquette is reporting a record low year for blood supply. AB and O- positive, as well as AB, O, and A- negative blood types are all in critical need.
But some types are harder to find than others.
"The negatives are only 15 percent of the population, so not a lot of people out there are negative; they're very few and far between," says Sallie Coron of the U.P. Regional Blood Center.
They say the summer months are always slow donation periods because so many folks are out of town.
Demand is also on the rise. Although national donations increase by three percent every year, the need for blood increases by twice that amount.
"The U.P. Regional Blood Center supplies 13 hospitals, so when we experience a shortage, we're responsible for all these other hospitals," Coron says.
And they say it just takes one pint of blood to help save up to three lives in the U.P.
When we asked Joe Burdick of Marquette what he was feeling while giving blood, he said: "Nothing right now. They're really good here so you don't even feel it go in you, you don't feel it when it's in there, pull it out, it's nothing...plus I'm really tough."
For more on how and where you can donate, click here.
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