LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa. \u2014 The American Red Cross has declared the second national blood crisis in its history, as donations drop to a new low.<\/p>\n
The supply is just as dire right here in the Lehigh Valley, but local organizations are stepping in to help plug the gap.<\/p>\n
According to the American Red Cross, overall blood donations have plunged to a four-year summer low.<\/p>\n
“We’re at a critical level right now for blood shortage, and this is only the second time in memory that the Red Cross has declared a critical blood shortage,” said Peter Brown, executive director of the American Red Cross Pennsylvania Rivers Chapter. “The Lehigh Valley has a very diverse population. We’re a heavily populated area, so we do tend to reflect those national trends.”<\/p>\n
Officials warn the drop threatens local emergency rooms and surgical procedures.<\/p>\n
“There’s potential right now for people to have to delay treatments or delay surgical procedures,” Brown said. “There’s a critical need for type O because that can be used for transfusions, particularly for emergency use.”<\/p>\n
To help keep supplies stocked, the Muslim Association of Lehigh Valley is hosting a blood drive this Saturday. Faith leaders like Imam Daniel Hernandez say they have been partnering with the Red Cross for about a decade.<\/p>\n
“We give them the venue, they set up, and the community starts coming and donating blood,” Imam Daniel said.<\/p>\n
Leaders are welcoming all neighbors across the valley to walk in and help save lives during this national emergency.<\/p>\n
“This is very natural to us\u2014to serve humanity and give back to the community,” said Mahfuzul Khondaker, president of the Muslim Association of Lehigh Valley. “People come, they donate blood, and they feel so happy and fulfilled that they have done something.”<\/p>\n
Saturday’s drive runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Muslim Association facility at 1988 Schadt Ave. in Whitehall.<\/p>\n
“We should strive to try to save lives in general and not be selective by helping only our own,” Imam Daniel said.<\/p>\n
Upcoming Area Blood Drives<\/p>\n
Allentown\/Lehigh Valley DMA<\/p>\n
BERKS COUNTY<\/p>\n
July 28 (1:15 p.m. \u2013 5:45 p.m.): American Legion Ray A. Master Post 217, 133 Centre Ave., Topton<\/p>\n
July 30 (1 p.m. \u2013 5:30 p.m.): Fred Beans Ford of Boyertown, 525 PA-100, Boyertown<\/p>\n
August 7 (11 a.m. \u2013 3:30 p.m.): Medical Office Building, 101 Wellness Way, Reading<\/p>\n
August 8 (9 a.m. \u2013 2 p.m.): Gouglersville Fire Co. No. 1, 475 Mohns Hill Rd., Reading<\/p>\n
LEHIGH COUNTY<\/p>\n
July 31 (11 a.m. \u2013 4 p.m.): Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest (Kasych Building), 1200 S. Cedar Crest Blvd., Allentown<\/p>\n
August 1 (9 a.m. \u2013 2 p.m.): American Red Cross PA Rivers Chapter, 3939 Broadway, Allentown<\/p>\n
August 8 (9 a.m. \u2013 2 p.m.): Muslim Association of Lehigh Valley, 1988 Schadt Ave., Whitehall<\/p>\n
August 12 (11 a.m. \u2013 3:30 p.m.): LVCIL, 713 N. 13th St., Allentown<\/p>\n
August 13 (10:30 a.m. \u2013 3:30 p.m.): Lehigh Valley Hospital-Muhlenberg (North Entrance 2545 Building), 2545 Schoenersville Rd., Bethlehem<\/p>\n
August 13 (11 a.m. \u2013 4 p.m.): Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest (Kasych Building), 1200 S. Cedar Crest Blvd., Allentown<\/p>\n
NORTHAMPTON COUNTY<\/p>\n
July 29 (11 a.m. \u2013 4 p.m.): Forks Township Community Center, 500 Zucksville Rd., Easton<\/p>\n
July 29 (12 p.m. \u2013 4:30 p.m.): The Center Lehigh Valley, 529 East Broad St., Bethlehem<\/p>\n
August 14 (1 p.m. \u2013 6 p.m.): Charles Chrin Community Center, 4100 Green Pond Rd., Easton<\/p>\n
Scranton\/Wilkes-Barre DMA<\/p>\n
CARBON COUNTY<\/p>\n
July 27 (12 p.m. \u2013 4:30 p.m.): Jim Thorpe Market, 1 River Rd., Jim Thorpe<\/p>\n
MONROE COUNTY<\/p>\n
July 30 (10:30 a.m. \u2013 3 p.m.): Baymont Inn & Suites, 116 Turtlewalk Ln., Bartonsville<\/p>\n
July 31 (12 p.m. \u2013 5 p.m.): Monroe County Meals on Wheels, 901 Polk Valley Rd., Stroudsburg<\/p>\n
July 31 (12 p.m. \u2013 5 p.m.): VFW Post #3448, 119 VFW Dr., Tobyhanna<\/p>\n
August 4 (1:30 p.m. \u2013 6 p.m.): A Pocono Country Place E Clubhouse, 112 Recreation Dr., Tobyhanna<\/p>\n
August 11 (1:30 p.m. \u2013 6:30 p.m.): St. John’s Catholic Church, 5171 Milford Rd. (Route 209), East Stroudsburg<\/p>\n
August 12 (9:30 a.m. \u2013 2:30 p.m.): Eastern Monroe Public Library, 1002 North 9th St., Stroudsburg<\/p>\n
August 14 (12:30 p.m. \u2013 5 p.m.): Cornerstone Community Church, 388 Polk Township Rd., Kresgeville<\/p>\n
August 15 (9 a.m. \u2013 2 p.m.): Lehigh Valley Hospital-Pocono Cancer Center, 181 E. Brown St., East Stroudsburg<\/p>\n
SCHUYLKILL COUNTY<\/p>\n
July 28 (1 p.m. \u2013 6 p.m.): St. Andrew’s United Methodist Church, 1382 W. Main St., Valley View<\/p>\n
July 30 (12 p.m. \u2013 5 p.m.): Friedensburg Fire Company, 1357 Long Run Rd., Friedensburg<\/p>\n
July 30 (1 p.m. \u2013 6 p.m.): Trinity Lutheran Church, 300 W. Arch St., Pottsville<\/p>\n
July 31 (10 a.m. \u2013 3 p.m.): Fairlane Village Mall, 7211 Fairlane Village Mall, Pottsville<\/p>\n
August 3 (1 p.m. \u2013 6 p.m.): Christ’s United Lutheran Church, 437 Airport Rd. (Gordon), Ashland<\/p>\n
August 10 (1 p.m. \u2013 6 p.m.): Frackville Elks 1533, 307 South Third St., Frackville<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa. \u2014 The American Red Cross has declared the second national blood crisis in its history,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":261406,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[214,279,805,28,7445,128,130,129,7446],"class_list":["post-261405","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-_homepage_top_stories","tag-berks","tag-lehighvalley","tag-pennsylvania","tag-poconos-coal","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news","tag-southeastern-pa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261405","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=261405"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261405\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/261406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=261405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=261405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=261405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}