United Blood Services officials have asked for donors in the Phoenix area to give a pint to help boost the blood supply, which has been cut by the Zika virus. Southern Arizona has been hard hit because of donor travel to Mexico, a Zika virus-risk country, severely affecting donations. UBS officials are hoping upcoming community drives in the Phoenix area can help.
Those traveling to Mexico are required to wait 28 days to donate blood. Some blood drives in southern Arizona have been canceled and others have had donations cut to about two-thirds of what had been expected, according to Sue Thew, a United Blood Services spokeswoman. Many blood drives have been heavily reduced or canceled altogether. READ MORE
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