LifeStream pushes for blood donations while raising funds for military families

This Memorial Day weekend, LifeStream Blood Bank is supporting the Children of the Fallen Patriots Foundation to raise funds for military families in need.

From May 24 to May 27, LifeStream will donate $5 for every successful blood and platelet donation.

The push comes amid an ongoing nationwide blood shortage. Supplies in the U.S. are at a record 20-year low, according to the Red Cross, due to a shortage of donors.

About 62% of the U.S. population is eligible to give blood, but only 3% of people who are eligible to donate actually do so. The American Red Cross must collect enough blood every day to meet the needs of accident and burn victims, heart surgery and organ transplant patients, and those receiving treatment for leukemia, cancer or sickle cell disease.

News Channel 3 is checking in with LifeStream Blood Bank to see how blood supplies are doing in the Coachella Valley.