As the number of summer injuries rise, the University of Cincinnati’s Hoxworth Blood Center has put out a donation call to the local community in order to prevent a blood shortage.
According to the Hoxworth Blood Center, the increased rates of car accidents, violent crime and vacation accidents have led to worries about the lower blood product levels. Hoxworth supplies more than 30 hospitals in the local Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana areas with necessary blood products, and they say they need 450 donors every day to provide for all locations.
So far in 2025 there have been 121 shooting incidents and 144 shooting victims in Cincinnati, according to CincyInsights. According to a press release from Hoxworth, “Gunshot victims are approximately five times more likely to require blood transfusions requiring 10 times more blood than other traumas.”
To encourage donations, Hoxworth will also be offering a limited-edition Cincinnati Reds Ringer shirt to donors during the month of July. All new donors will also have the chance to win tickets to the Sept. 18 Cincinnati Reds game against the Cubs, with five of the winners receiving suite tickets.
So whether you bleed red and black for UC or red, black and white for the Cincinnati Reds, the Hoxworth Blood Center urges you to play an important role for the community and donate. To schedule an appointment at one of their seven locations, call (513) 451-0910 or go online at www.hoxworth.org.
This article appears in Jul 9-22, 2025.