A community blood drive will be held at the Old Mill Stream Centre at the Hancock County Fairgrounds in Findlay on Thursday.

The Red Cross is facing a severe blood shortage due to so many drives being canceled because of the coronavirus.

“To date we’ve had over 7,000 drives canceled, resulting in more than 200,000 blood collections that haven’t happened,” said Todd James, executive director of the North Central Ohio Chapter of the American Red Cross.

“And that blood is still needed every day in our communities for people who have had emergencies, and car accidents and cancer treatments, everything that that blood is used for every day to save lives.”

James says they’re taking even more precautions on top of their already stringent health and safety guidelines for donors.

“We only accept donations from people who are healthy at the time of donation, and we still do health checks on everyone beforehand and now we’re also taking temperatures and placing the beds further apart to follow social distancing guidelines.”

The blood drive is being hosted by Blanchard Valley Health System.

It will be held on Thursday, March 26th from 7am to 7pm at the Old Mill Stream Centre at the Hancock County Fairgrounds on Sandusky Street in Findlay.

To schedule an appointment click here, use sponsor code BVH or call 419-423-5337.