WHITEHALL, Pa. – The Whitehall Township Fire Department called a 2nd alarm on Sunday, urging friends and neighboring fire departments to come to the Egypt Fire Company’s Social Hall and donate blood.<\/p>\n
“We respond to emergencies all the time so this is just one more thing that we can do for the community,” said Captain John Hersh with the Whitehall Township Fire Department.<\/p>\n
Hersh started the event back in 2022 and said he got the idea from one of his doctors as he was battling cancer.<\/p>\n
“I a run in with cancer in 2021, leukemia, and I wound up going through extensive chemotherapy that needed a lot of donated blood products to get through. I needed the red blood cells and platelet cells,” said Hersh. “I see the need for it and how important it is.”<\/p>\n
Blood donation is needed more than ever.<\/p>\n
“These events, they’re important because there is a blood shortage in this country,” said Miller Keystone Blood Center’s VP of Communications and Chief Philanthropy Officer, Lina Barbieri. “It’s not just a national issue. It’s a local issue, so if we can get individuals to come out and give blood at the local level, you could be saving a patient who is a friend, a family member, a neighbor.”<\/p>\n
The American Red Cross said their blood supply dropped by 35% over the winter. Locally, Miller Keystone Blood Center, which is the local blood bank supplier for the Lehigh Valley said they’re also facing a shortage.<\/p>\n
“If you can donate blood, please consider it, it’s so important for the community,” said Hersh.<\/p>\n