Red Cross teams up with 'Twisters' for blood donations

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Photo by Kirill Dratsevich on Pexels.com

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The American Red Cross has partnered with Universal Pictures and the movie “Twisters” to try and increase blood donations (Photo by Kirill Dratsevich on Pexels.com).

A sharp decrease in donations since late spring has prompted the American Red Cross to seek donors of all blood types, especially type O blood or platelets.

According to a press release, this July the Red Cross has teamed up with Universal Pictures for the film release of “Twisters” to try and prevent a summer blood shortage. As a prize for giving blood or platelets in July, donors will receive a Fandango movie ticket by email. Those who donate July 1-14 will also receive a special edition “Twisters” umbrella while supplies last. July donors will also automatically be entered to win a 2025 Ram 1500 Big Horn.

According to the release, summer calendars and holiday plans may prevent regular donors from being able to give blood. Additionally, the recent increase in extreme summer weather – such as hurricanes, flooding, or tornadoes – can result in appointment cancellations that threaten America’s blood supply.

“Because of the climate crisis, the Red Cross is now launching twice as many relief operations for major disasters than we did a decade ago,” said Jennifer Pipa, vice president of Disaster Programs for the Red Cross, in the release. “And disasters are not only straining our relief operations but also our ability to collect lifesaving blood donations. So far this year we have collected 20,000 fewer blood donations due to severe weather.”

According to the release, in the first five months of 2024, the Red Cross has responded to 20 tornado-related disasters across 13 states. Meteorologists expect storms to worsen in the upcoming months, following the years-long trend of more frequent and intense climate disasters, such as hurricanes, wildfires, severe storms, and floods.

More information about the Red Cross and “Twisters” partnership can be found online.