Winter weather impacting blood supply in Illinois. Here's how you can donate
The American Red Cross has declared a severe shortage after the blood supply dropped 35% in the past month.
Watch CBS News
The American Red Cross has declared a severe shortage after the blood supply dropped 35% in the past month.
The organization is dealing with a severe blood shortage as hospitals need more than what is available. Joining Dana Kozlov and Marissa Perlman is Kellie O’Connell, regional chief executive officer of the Illinois Red Cross office.
Thursday is also World Sickle Cell Awareness Day, to bring attention to a disease often treated with blood transfusions.
As Bradley Blackburn explains, Saturday is World Blood Donor Day, but the summer months are usually difficult for the nation's blood supply, with a dip in donations.
People with the disease often get sudden, debilitating bouts of pain.
In the Chicago area, the American Red Cross collects about 1,000 units of blood per day. It sounds like a lot, but the need for blood donations is huge and constant.
Last year, the Food and Drug Administration lifted rules put in place in the 80s during the AIDS/HIV crisis.
After devastating storms in parts of the South and the Midwest, Trevor Riggen, president of humanitarian services with the American Red Cross, discusses how the organization is preparing volunteers ahead of hurricane season.
The American Red Cross issued an alert saying they are experiencing an emergency blood shortage as the nation faces the lowest number of people giving blood in 20 years. Visit
Blood donors are needed now more than ever as the Red Cross is facing an emergency shortage.
"It will bring tears to my eyes seeing everyone in here because just knowing that without them, I wouldn't be here today."
"I wouldn't have lived a month had I not gotten started getting blood."
The drive runs from 3:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m.
The American Red Cross says donations have been way down since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. They currently need more than 13,000 donations a day just to keep up with demand.
"We're hoping they're going to come back and hopefully when they hear about the mixed reality, they're going to want to come in and try it."
Twenty-two Attorneys General, including Illinois' Kwame Raoul, are calling for an end to the FDA's blood donation policy they say stigmatizes the LGBTQ+ community.
The Chicago Auto Show will get underway today but this year you can drive to save lives.
Four days after being shot in a Chicago drive-by shooting in West Woodlawn, a teen is speaking out from his hospital bed.
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and other officials broke ground Thursday on a $99.1 million roadway upgrade project along Touhy Avenue in Chicago's northwest suburbs.
Four people were hurt, two of them seriously, when a van crashed into a liquor store in West Garfield Park Thursday afternoon.
A Chicago man has been charged with a string of burglaries targeting video gambling terminals at businesses in Chicago's southwest suburbs.
Reaction from Illinois and Chicago politicians to news that Kristi Noem had been ousted as head of DHS was swift, and savage.
From midnight raids to shootings, Kristi Noem, who was ousted as DHS secretary by Trump today, was at the center of many of the controversies of Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago.
The announcement comes amid criticism of DHS spending under Noem, and as Congress has allowed the department's funding to lapse.
Federal prosecutors are dropping their probe into whether Biden and his aides unlawfully used an autopen for pardons, a source said.
Several Republicans on the Oversight panel joined with Democrats in supporting the motion to subpoena Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Former presidents Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Joe Biden are among the big names who will be in Chicago Friday for Rev. Jesse Jackson's funeral.
Drivers in the Chicago area can expect to start paying more at the pump this week, as oil prices have spiked amid the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
Palatine, Illinois-based Weber has issued a recall of more than 3.2 million metal wire bristle grill brushes because you could ingest the bristles.
This is after Mayor Brandon Johnson vetoed an ordinance that would have banned most hemp-derived products this weekend.
This week marks Identity Theft Awareness Week, and Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza emphasized some safety tips Monday for avoiding and dealing with identity theft.
A controversial data center in Naperville, Illinois, could be the cause to pack a city council meeting there on Tuesday night.
When a doctor was told there was no cure for his daughter's condition, he was motivated to transform not only her health, but the lives of thousands of others.
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital announced this week that it is planning to open a new pediatric hospital in the west Chicago suburb of Downers Grove.
It has been nearly six years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and one of the many questions doctors are still working to answer concerns the long-term effects.
Leaders from Cook County, the Illinois Department of Human Services, and the Greater Chicago Food Depository denounced changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program on Wednesday.
The University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center has received a grant from The Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation for a new cancer center.
A new development at the southeast corner of Chicago's East Lakeview community would clear away a medical office building and replace it with a residential high-rise.
The City of Aurora, Illinois, is seeking input from residents about data center development.
Not one, but two hotels are now planned or proposed for Chicago's Northalsted LGBTQ+ nightlife district.
After the Double Door closed in Wicker Park, there was reassurance that the Double Door would return, at a new location in the city's Uptown neighborhood. Now that is not happening anymore.
Barnes & Noble was set to reopen in Skokie on Wednesday, just weeks after it closed.
Actor and filmmaker Bruce Campbell told fans that he is in treatment for cancer and will cancel some upcoming public appearances.
Singer-songwriter Neil Sedaka, known for his hits like "Laughter in the Rain," "Breaking Up is Hard to Do" and "Calendar Girl," has died.
A 19th-century George Méliès film, thought to be long lost, has been found among a box of brittle movie reels that a Michigan donor brought to the Library of Congress, officials said.
Streaming giant Netflix declined to match Paramount Skydance's $31 per share offer for Warner Bros. Discovery.
After the Double Door closed in Wicker Park, there was reassurance that the Double Door would return, at a new location in the city's Uptown neighborhood. Now that is not happening anymore.
A small plane crashed Wednesday night just feet away from homes where people were sleeping in north suburban Deerfield.
Pop star Britney Spears was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence Wednesday night in Southern California, the Ventura County Sheriff's Office said.
Anne and Kelly with Forever Fortunate Felines in Palatine, Illinois, joined CBS News Chicago to introduce Nala and Garfield, both available to adopt, and also talk about their "March Meow-ness" adoption event this weekend.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon said its bombing campaign will push deeper into Iran and become more intense.
Generally wet weather with dense fog on Thursday, with rounds of showers possible. Temps remain steady from day into night in the low 40s.
Reaction from local leaders to news that Kristi Noem had been ousted as head of DHS was swift and savage.
A pilot was killed in a small plane crash in Deerfield, Illinois, Wednesday night.
Four days after being shot in a Chicago drive-by shooting in West Woodlawn, a teen is speaking out from his hospital bed.
The announcement comes amid criticism of DHS spending under Noem, and as Congress has allowed the department's funding to lapse.
The Chicago Bears are in discussions with the Buffalo Bills to finalize a trade that sends Moore to the AFC East, according to CBS NFL insider Jonathan Jones.
A proposed Illinois law hopes to create more oversight on private companies to protect consumers from skyrocketing utility prices.
The three women said they are working to make their way back home, but without any help from the U.S. State Department.
If you feel like you're drowning in a sea of text alerts and desperate email pleas for "just $5" this election season, you are far from alone.
A north suburban school bus driver became a victim of sophisticated scammers who are targeting more people and more vulnerable populations to make more money.
Both couples are still actively fighting for their kids, knowing it will be a long and complicated road.
The Chicago Bears are in discussions with the Buffalo Bills to finalize a trade that sends Moore to the AFC East, according to CBS NFL insider Jonathan Jones.
Northwestern was in control before Purdue got back in the game with a 9-0 run in the second half.
Last-place Loyola Chicago came in shooting just 31% on 3s, but kept it close by outscoring the nation's top 3-point shooting team by nine from behind the arc.
Holtz coached Notre Dame from 1986 to 1996, winning 100 games with the school, including a 12-0 national title-winning season in 1988.
Illinois is a win away from a triple-bye and berth in the quarterfinals next week in the Big Ten Tournament.
A Chicago man has been charged with a string of burglaries targeting video gambling terminals at businesses in Chicago's southwest suburbs.
An 11-year-old girl was sexually assaulted by three juveniles on Chicago's Near South Side this week.
A woman was held up by gun-wielding robbers in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood early Thursday morning.
Two women are dead in Pennsylvania and a man is dead in Hillside, Illinois, after an apparent murder-suicide, police said.
Chicago police on Wednesday warned of a string of charity scam incidents in the on the Near West and South sides in recent weeks.
