DAYTON — Power outages caused by remnants of Hurricane Helene cancelled recent blood drives and continued to disrupt blood collection. Solvita Blood Center needs the immediate assistance of donors to overcome a blood shortage emergency.

All blood types were in low supply prior to Friday’s storms. Power outages forced the cancellation of two blood drives on Saturday and many people impacted by outages cancelled appointments to donate.

Solvita is under an emergency alert because daily collections are far short of the 350 donors per day minimum needed to supply all partner hospitals. Solvita is calling on community members to make an appointment to donate as soon as possible.

Schedule a blood donation with Solvita (formerly Community Blood Center) on the Donor Time app, by calling (937) 461-3220, or at www.donortime.com. Walk-ins are welcome at the Solvita Dayton Center, 349 S. Main St.

“All blood drives are on schedule, but many donors are still without power and can’t keep their appointments,” said Solvita Vice President for Donor Services Tracy Morgan. “We are calling on all eligible donors, lapsed donors, and first-time donors to help us overcome this critical need for blood.”

Everyone who registers to donate with Solvita will receive the Solvita Anniversary t-shirt and will be automatically entered in the drawing to win two tickets to the Ohio State vs. Michigan game Nov. 30 in Columbus.

You can save time while helping save lives by using “DonorXPress” to complete the donor questionnaire before arriving at a blood drive. Find DonorXPress on the Donor Time App or at www.solvita.org/donorxpress.