Lombard hosts annual winter blood drive amid national shortage

LOMBARD, Ill. - Versiti took its blood donation operation on the road Tuesday to Lombard where they parked a mobile blood donation bus.

It's all part of the village of Lombard's annual blood drive. Their motto: "Be a hero, save a life."

This year, National Blood Donor Month coincides with a nationwide blood shortage.

Things are so bad, for some blood types there's less than a one-day supply on hand, said Camille Piazza, with Versiti Blood Centers of Illinois.

"Supplies of Type O negative and positive are especially low," she said.

FOX 32 caught up with donor Kevin Wollenberg who says he gives blood three to four times a year.

"I had a neighbor who needed a lot of blood at one time and so I'm kind of giving back," Wollenberg said.

"They sent emails," said Kevin Fitzpatrick, another donor. "They really had a hard time getting people. This [weather] is causing people to cancel. So they needed even more. There's probably more accidents these days, so they need blood."

Fitzpatrick said he has donated every eight weeks since he was 18 years old.

"I went to Montini High School here in Lombard and they started doing a blood drive when I was 18 and I've been doing it ever since.

Piazza said Versiti needs 600 units every day in order to supply 80 hospitals in the Chicago area. Since today is also "National Radon Action Month", Zan Jones from Radonova said her company partnered with Versiti to hand out free radon test kits to every blood donor.

"About 40% of the homes in Illinois have high radon levels and radon is the number one cause of lung cancer in non-smokers," she said.

Versiti will be outside the Von Maur store at Yorktown mall until 1 p.m. Tuesday, and from 1:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the First Church of Lombard Fellowship Hall on Main Street.

Or you can visit Versiti.org/IL or a location near you.