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 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/7/1564501011558.jpeg" alt="Red Cross St. Joseph" />
 <figcaption>Red Cross St. Joseph</figcaption>
 </figure>by Sarah ThomackSt. Joseph PostThe American Red Cross reports that over 600 blood drives have been cancelled in the region due to the coronavirus outbreak. Angie Springs with the Northwest Missouri Chapter of the American Red Cross says that equates to about 20,000 fewer blood donations.“That’s a huge impact. The reality is that those that need blood products haven’t stopped because of all of this," Springs says. "People are still fighting cancer, vital surgeries need to take place, people are still having heart attacks, accidents are still happening and so people need to have blood products for them and the only way that we can do that is if those that are healthy would step out and go and donate blood.”Springs says the blood donation shortage is nationwide with&nbsp;350,000 fewer blood donations due to over 12,000 blood drives being cancelled.Springs says staff are taking extra precautions at blood drive locations, including taking people’s temperatures before they come in, to ensure a safe blood donation process.“We will also control that social distancing and ensure there’s only so many people in that blood drive area at one given time," Springs says. "Our staff are wearing masks, we have hand sanitizer available to everyone, our staff are wearing gloves like always and, again, making sure that social distancing is maintained so that it can be a safe, comfortable environment for you to feel like you can come out and give blood.”Springs adds that the Red Cross is still responding to home fires and large scale disasters in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic."We know that the services that we are providing are necessary and needed," Springs says. "Those healthcare providers still need to be certified in CPR and first aid, people that have lost everything to a home fire still need our response. Know that we're busy, we're still working and we would not be able to do it without our dedicated volunteers that help make our services possible."Anyone interested in volunteering can contact their local Red Cross or visit <a href="https://www.redcross.org/">redcross.org</a>.To find a nearby blood drive location visit <a href="https://www.redcrossblood.org/">redcrossblood.org</a>.

Red Cross faces blood donation shortage as hundreds of area drives are cancelled