The national blood supply has dropped nearly 25 percent since late May, and the American Red Cross is calling it an emergency. Dedham residents who want to help have a donation center less than a mile from Dedham Square: the Dedham Blood Donation Center at 180 Rustcraft Road, open with appointments available through Friday, July 31.
The Red Cross said its distributions to hospitals are running roughly 3,500 units per week above what was expected, a gap driven by summer trauma season, busy vacation schedules and the seasonal loss of school blood drives. Platelets and blood types O positive and B negative are in the most critical need.
"A readily available blood supply serves as the backbone of modern medicine," Dr. Courtney Lawrence, medical director for the American Red Cross, said in a statement published Thursday, July 24. "Emergency departments, operating rooms, and labor and delivery units can't support patients with the most urgent needs, and cancer patients must wait."
Lawrence urged donors to act before hospitals face difficult triage decisions.
How to donate in Dedham
The Dedham Blood Donation Center at 180 Rustcraft Road has the following appointment windows remaining:
- Sunday, July 27 — 12:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
- Tuesday, July 28 — 12:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
- Thursday, July 30 — 11:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
- Friday, July 31 — 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
The Red Cross recommends booking ahead using the Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org, or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).
Free movie ticket for donors
Everyone who donates through Friday, July 31, receives a Fandango movie ticket by email, valued at up to $15 covering the ticket price and fees. Details are at RedCrossBlood.org/July.
The Dedham center on Rustcraft Road is a fixed Red Cross donation site serving Norfolk County residents. A Red Cross survey found that fewer than one in five people understood that blood cannot be stockpiled because it has a limited shelf life and must be continually replenished through volunteer donors.
