{"id":97959,"date":"2026-01-27T14:49:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T14:49:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/97959\/"},"modified":"2026-01-27T14:49:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T14:49:08","slug":"lehigh-valleys-blood-center-issues-call-for-donors-due-to-winter-storms-impact","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/97959\/","title":{"rendered":"Lehigh Valley\u2019s blood center issues call for donors due to winter storm\u2019s impact"},"content":{"rendered":"

Miller-Keystone Blood Center<\/a> is urging donors to give blood after last weekend\u2019s snow and ice storms forced cancellations of community blood drives and reduced operating hours at donor centers.<\/p>\n

The severe weather significantly disrupted collections at a time when the center needs approximately 350 blood donations daily to meet transfusion needs at regional hospitals, according to Monika Wiegers, the center\u2019s director of donor services.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, the recent snowstorms forced us to cancel several community blood drives and modify operating hours at our donor center locations,\u201d Wiegers said, noting that declines in blood donations are common this time of year.<\/p>\n

Winter months present multiple challenges for blood centers as holiday activities, increased travel, inclement weather and seasonal illnesses prevent people from donating, she said. However, the need for blood remains constant as hospitals continue caring for cancer patients, premature infants, accident victims and others requiring transfusions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe winter months are often challenging for community blood centers,\u201d Wiegers explained. \u201cHoliday activities, increased travel, inclement weather and seasonal illnesses can all prevent people from donating blood. However, accidents and illnesses do not take a break.\u201d<\/p>\n

The center operates donor locations in Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton, Hamilton, Pittston and Reading. Wiegers said a donation takes about an hour and can help save as many as three lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a result, we\u2019re asking all eligible blood donors to take an hour of their time over the next few days to visit one of our donor center locations (including Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton, Hamilton, Pittston, Reading, PA, or Ewing, NJ) and help bolster the community blood supply,\u201d Wiegers said. \u201cDonating blood is safe and easy, and in just one hour, you can help save as many as three lives, possibly those of a family member, neighbor or friend.\u201d<\/p>\n

To encourage donations, Miller-Keystone is running its annual \u201cBring a Friend\u201d campaign through Feb. 28. The initiative invites existing donors to bring someone who has never donated with the organization. After successfully donating, both donors will receive a $25 electronic gift card.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Miller-Keystone Blood Center is urging donors to give blood after last weekend\u2019s snow and ice storms forced cancellations…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":97960,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,121,120],"class_list":{"0":"post-97959","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-allentown","8":"tag-allentown","9":"tag-allentown-headlines","10":"tag-allentown-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97959","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=97959"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97959\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/97960"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}