Montana Blood Supplier Calls for More Donations After Drop

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The blood supplier of Billings hospitals says it needs more donors after its daily blood donation count has fallen by more than half.

The Billings Gazette reported Monday that Vitalant of Montana aims to get between 150 and 200 units of blood each day, but the daily donation has dropped to about 70 units.

St. Vincent Healthcare and the Billings Clinic said in a joint statement that the blood supply is “alarmingly low,” so they need more people to donate regularly.

Vitalant donor recruitment manager Erin Baker says the supplier has had trouble attracting donors who are ages 24-40. Most of the donors are 50 and older.

Baker says a person would ideally donate blood at least three times a year.

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Information from: The Billings Gazette, http://www.billingsgazette.com