With winter a notoriously difficult time for blood collection efforts, the American Red Cross and the National Football League have again teamed up to offer a super incentive to donate.

Severe weather, including snowstorms and freezing temperatures, often forces the cancellation of blood drives, while seasonal illnesses such as COVID-19, flu and RSV lead to missed appointments and fewer eligible donors, according to the Red Cross. Those factors can put the nation’s blood supply at risk.

In fact, heavy snowstorms in Midwest and mid-Atlantic states in the past few days forced the cancellation of more than 250 blood drives, resulting in over 5,000 uncollected blood donations, significantly impacting the lifesaving blood supply, Keith Paul, American Red Cross Utah/Nevada Region communications director, said Tuesday in press releases.

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Consequently, the Red Cross of Utah put out an urgent call for donations.

“Blood donors are the unsung heroes of our communities,” said Heidi Ruster, chief executive officer of the American Red Cross Utah/Nevada Region. “The need for blood is constant, and while tragic events can inspire people to step forward, it’s the regular donations given day in and day out that ensure we’re prepared for any situation. Every donation is a lifeline for patients across the country.”

Units of blood are filtered while stored in a refrigerator at the American Red Cross Blood Donation Center and Lab in Murray on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

Roll up your sleeve for a chance at the Super Bowl

January is National Blood Donation Month. To mark the occasion, the Red Cross and the NFL are partnering for the sixth consecutive year to encourage football fans and others to donate blood or platelets.

Those who donate through Jan. 26 will automatically be entered for a chance to win a 2025 Super Bowl getaway. The prize package includes access to pregame events on game day, tickets to the official Super Bowl Experience, round-trip airfare, three-night hotel accommodations (Feb. 7-10), and a $1,000 gift card for expenses. For details and eligibility information, visit RedCrossBlood.org/SuperBowl.

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Donors can easily find a nearby blood drive or donation center and schedule an appointment using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, by visiting redcrossblood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).

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Need for blood

As the Deseret News reported in August, blood donations were down nationwide.

Last summer, a strange combination of events that included the CrowdStrike cybersecurity outage that impacted both flights and hospital operations in some states, the hacking of the major blood center OneBlood, along with the typical vacations at a time when blood need tends to rise, created concern about whether blood banks have enough blood on hand to deal with emergencies.

The Red Cross nationally supplies about 40% of all collected blood, and to meet the needs of 2,500 hospitals and transfusion centers nationwide, it needs to receive about 12,500 blood and 3,000 platelet donations every day.

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