By Tim Jimenez

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Hurricane Sandy left the Red Cross short of blood, and now they are reaching out for the public’s help.

The local chapter of the Red Cross says they were able to get blood to the areas most in need in the aftermath of Sandy.  But the threat and arrival of the storm forced a change of plans for the organization.

“We canceled every single blood drive Monday, Tuesday, and the majority of Wednesday as well,”  says spokesman Anthony Tornetta.

And those were lost opportunities to bring in much needed blood.

“We are down approximately 3,000 units of blood across our region alone,” Tornetta says.

And across 14 states, the Red Cross says its blood banks are down a total of 11,800 units after 350 blood drives had to be canceled because of Sandy.

If you are looking for a blood drive near you, you can go to Redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED-CROSS.