Montgomery Co. Hosting Blood Drive In Norristown

NORRISTOWN, PA — A major blood drive organized by Montgomery County government will be held in Norristown this week.

The event will take place at the DeKalb Center building in Norristown on Jan. 8.

All blood types are needed, according to the Red Cross, which says it needs to collect 12,500 units of blood and nearly 3,000 platelet donations a day to ensure 2,500 hospitals and transfusion centers nationwide have adequate supplies.

Recent nationwide blood shortages have sent the Red Cross and the healthcare system into crisis mode. Experts believe the pandemic is at least partly responsible for the decline in the number of young people who are giving blood. A federal National Blood Collection and Utilization Survey showed the number of teens and young adults giving blood has steadily fallen since 2013. Donations from 16- to 18-year-olds dropped by 60 percent from 2019 to 2021, and donations from 19- to 24-year-olds went down by almost a third, according to that report.

Those who wish to attend can register at RedCrossBlood.org and use sponsor code DCN Norristown to find the correct event.