Something you can do to help. According to the CBS Evening News there is a huge backlog of surgeries being held up due to the limited blood supply. For this past year, blood centers and their partner organizations have been unable to hold the usual blood drives due to Covid, and the national blood supply is getting dangerously low. So check in with the Rhode Island Blood Center and see if you can help out.
Just because a surgery or transfusion has been scheduled, doesn’t mean it isn’t urgent for that patient. Sure, the needs of the guy who shows up in the emergency room because he “lit fuse” but forgot to “walk away” may be more immediate, but if it’s your child who needs a platelet transfusion for his leukemia, that is urgent.
It may take a while before the usual organizations can get in gear again — the Providence Performing Arts Center is to be commended; they held a blood drive in May when they were probably pretty busy getting back on their feet — so individual citizens need to pitch in.
We just spent over a year feeling helpless — now you can help. It feels good. Or do it out of enlightened self-interest. After all, you are only one car accident away from needing a pint for your own broken self.
Go here to schedule an appointment.