US Blood Banks short on blood supply and Mark Stone has a solution

Several years ago, Mark Stone had the idea to walk across America to raise awareness of the need in America for more people to give blood. Now, a few years later, Stone is revisiting this idea with a lot of more vigor.

As a representative of Congregation Ohev Shalom's Men's Club, he ran three Blood Drives a year for 25 years. He doesn't just encourage others to give blood, he himself is a dedicated blood giver. As of a few weeks ago, he donated his 88th pint of blood, making him an 11 Gallon Donor.

Why is he so concerned about blood? He and his wife, Susie, want to help solve a serious problem that affects the entire United States.

"All the blood banks throughout the country have been coming up short in getting enough blood to meet their normal operating demand," he stated in a letter he sent to the COS congregation. "On any given day, 10 to 15 percent, and sometimes approaching 20 percent, of Blood Banks in the U.S. are in a critical need of more blood. That means they need more blood donors!"

As of January 2024, according to the Red Cross, blood collections in the United States were at the lowest level they have been in 20 years, and that dire situation, now well over a year later, still remains. In fact, in July 2024 blood supplies in the United States dropped by 25 percent due to the extreme heat.

Did you know that more than 5,000,000 Americans would die each year without life-saving blood transfusions. But only 3 out of every 100 Americans donate blood.

Blood Banks use approximately 43,000 pints of blood every day. That's one pint every two seconds. The Banks aim to have a 3-day supply of blood all the time.

"The only real solution to this problem is to get more blood donors," Stone wrote on his GoFundMe page. "The blood banks have worked hard at that, but they, just like the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Health, are limited by some strict regulatory requirements."

Getting the word out about this dire situation is necessary, and Mark and Susie are willing to take on the task to visit all of the cities that are listed as being part of the 210 "Designated Television Market Areas" in the United States plus a fair number of small towns.

"We want to be the unofficial 'ambassadors' to get more people to donate blood. 

Blood cannot, I repeat, blood cannot be manufactured! Blood has to come from blood donors, people like me and you," said Stone.

The Stones' plan is to go to each of the 210 television market areas in a fire-engine red cargo van where they plan to walk about seven or eight miles each day handing out fliers to everyone they see, entering businesses to ask if they will hand out fliers to their employees and customers. The Stones want to spread the word of this need for blood to as many people as possible.

"On the fliers will be a request that people send copies of the flier by email or by regular postal service mail to their friends, relatives, fellow employees, fellow social club members, teammates, their fellow students, the members of their religious or charitable groups, etc.," Stone wrote on the GoFundMe page.

Mark Stone is not a person who has limited goals and visions. He is confident they will get stories in all the newspapers of the cities they visit, as well as in national news programs.

"If a group can get 100/200 people to attend an event at their country club, active adult community, or charitable organization, and they are willing to give Susie and me 8 or 9 minutes to deliver our message about the need for more blood donors, I would be willing to do my very entertaining one hour and forty-five minute comedy mindreading and ESP show, 'Mentalmania,' which I perform for all kinds of organizations all over the country, for free!" he said.

They will use social media and the help of "influencers" to get the word out to millions of people all over the country about the need for more blood donors.

"The half dozen things I just mentioned will make millions of people from coast-to-coast in the United States aware of the need for more blood donors, and some of them will become blood donors!"

The reason for a GoFundMe account is because it takes money to fund this campaign - to the tune, Mark estimates, of $1,375,000.

"We are hoping that we will be able to get started on this one-year-long campaign to get more blood donors in early June, just a little over two months from now. We have a lot of preparation to do in the meanwhile. So help us out. Contribute to our GoFundMe account today!"

If someone wants to contribute, please go online to GoFundMe.com, click on 'search' (top left) and type in "Support Mark and Susie's Blood Donation Campaign."