With COVID-19 cases up over 92% in Joplin over the past 14-days, the need for blood donation is higher than ever. KRPS’s Fred Fletcher-Fierro has more.

The Joplin Health Department has confirmed 1,184 new cases of the coronavirus over the past two-weeks. This Friday from 9 am until 5 in the evening, the Community Blood Center for the Ozarks will host a blood drive at Freeman Hospital in the West Conference Rooms 2W and 4W. At hospitals in southwest Missouri, northwest Arkansas and southeast Kansas, someone requires a blood transfusion every seven minutes.

Over the past 18 months, the demand for blood at these facilities has increased more than 10 percent and is now at the highest level it has been since 2015. CBCO is the sole provider of blood and plasma products to Freeman, as well as more than 44 other hospitals in its 40-county service area. The blood drive at Freeman on Friday is from 9 until 5. For more information or to schedule an appointment, visit cbco.org. For 89 9 KRPS, I’m Fred Fletcher-Fierro