The non-profit Lifestream Blood Bank is the primary supplier of blood for hospitals across the Inland Empire and has nine donation centers.
Dr. Rick Axelrod is the President and CEO of Lifestream. He said that to keep up with daily demand from hospitals, they need to receive around 500 donations a day. He added, "We're at a point now where we're really challenged to supply blood to the hospitals and very concerned that if we don't fix this shortly, that surgeries are going to be canceled."
Dr. Axelrod said Covid-19 has been the primary issue, with several of their donation drives being canceled in the past year. He said, "And the simple act of donating a unit of blood can save up to three lives, and I think that's a really wonderful thing for people to be thinking about."
Type O Blood is their most significant need since it can be universally used, but Axelrod added that they're very low on Type A, which is very unusual for them.
If you'd like to learn more about Lifestream and find a location near you, you can visit their website at lsteam.org.
