Northern California, February 2023 — Vitalant, a nonprofit organization dedicated to collecting blood donations, is appealing to eligible donors to come forward during February. This urgent call follows severe weather conditions, including frigid temperatures and snowstorms across the country, which resulted in the cancellation of over 1,000 blood donations last month. These disruptions have created a significant shortfall in the blood supply, impacting both emergency and routine medical treatments.
Vitalant’s spokesperson highlighted the critical need for donations to ensure that hospitals maintain adequate blood supplies for patient care. Community members are urged to contribute at several upcoming blood drives scheduled throughout the North Valley.
The scheduled blood drives are as follows:
- February 25: Adventist Health Corning Clinic/Bloodmobile, 155 Solano St., Corning, CA, from 1:00 PM to 2:45 PM.
- February 25: St. Elizabeth Community Hospital/Bloodmobile, 2550 Sister Mary Columba Drive, Red Bluff, CA, from 8:00 AM to 10:30 AM.
- February 26: Shasta College/Student Stage Cafeteria, 11555 North Oregon Trail, Redding, CA, from 11:00 AM to 1:30 PM.
- February 27: California State University, Chico/BMU Auditorium, 400 W. First Street, Chico, CA, from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM.
- February 27: Emma Wilson Elementary School/Bloodmobile, 1530 West 8th Avenue, Chico, CA, from 2:30 PM to 6:00 PM.
- February 27: Redding Rotary Riverview Golf & Country Club, Redding, CA, from 11:00 AM to 1:30 PM.
Vitalant stresses the importance of each donation in saving lives and strongly encourages those eligible to participate in these drives to help bridge the current supply gap.
