COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Donating blood can do more than just save a life, it can save a whole family. 

The American Red Cross said they are experiencing an emergency blood shortage and are in need of donations. The American Red Cross said donations have dropped by around 40% – making this the lowest number of people giving blood in 20 years. They said blood donation could go right back to people in our community.

“I don’t think I really fully grasped the need,” said Steve Robison.

Robison is now a two-time blood donor recipient. He most recently had a kidney transplant at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Now he is a little more than a month post-op.

“I needed about three units of blood to, you know, take the place of my blood loss during that operation. And so, yes, you know, I know the need for blood is real,” Robison said.

Robison said the best way he could describe how he feels post operation is “awesome.” Now an advocate for others to be able to get the gift he’s gotten twice before.

“I have been a recipient of many gifts from different people. And obviously, you know, the simple gift of blood and blood giving at the different Red Cross and donation sites is most definitely needed this time,” Robison said.

Don Hawkins with the American Red Cross said they normally see a decline in donors around the holidays. However, he said what they are seeing now is out of the ordinary, and they’ve seen the data declining for a while. He said this is the time for the community to step up.

“We are trying to show the fact that your impact when you give blood saves, not just the life the person is receiving it, but that it impacts the lives of everyone around that person by keeping that person around,” Hawkins said.

Hawkins said blood donations go wherever they are needed most. That could be here in central Ohio or across the nation.

“It is, you know, life-giving,” Robison said. “I fully plan eventually, you know, once I get outside my post-op window to become a donor and, you know, there’s nothing keeping me from looking forward to that time that I am able to give back and help the shortage.’

Right now, major hospital systems in central Ohio said they are not seeing a blood shortage. However, they said given the national shortage they are watching this closely.

Keshav Deshpande, a trauma surgeon at OhioHealth Grant Medical Center, said he uses blood almost daily. He said each patient could use from 5 to 10 units or more.

He said hearing there is a national blood shortage does concern him because even if they are not feeling the effects today, you never know what the future holds. Deshpande said those who donate could save multiple people.

“It’s amazing to watch people go through their recovery and when they realize what has been done to help them along the way and they see the faces that they see every day in the hospital. But what they don’t see is all the people in the background that have helped. And to me, the most important people are the people that helped them get to that point, which are the donors that gave that blood out of the goodness of their heart so that it could be used in an emergency situation or in a cancer situation,” Deshpande said.

Representatives from the American Red Cross said they have a team of professionals that will make you feel comfortable. They said they are always holding blood drives and urging people to come out and donate.