The American Red Cross has declared a national blood emergency, citing a significant shortage of donations that could endanger patient care.
Without a surge in volunteer participation, the organization warns it may not be able to keep up with hospital demand. As the nation's largest blood supplier, the Red Cross is responsible for about 40% of the blood used by hospitals across the United States.
Matt Trotter, a spokesperson for the Red Cross in the Kansas and Oklahoma region, said the low supply could affect anything from regular transfusions to emergency treatments.
"There's always the possibility, when the blood supply dips like it has, that patients won't be able to get the blood products they need, when they need it," he said.
The Red Cross first sounded the alarm about depleted resources earlier this month, after blood donations dropped 25% in June. Donations did not increase in July, and the national organization has now reached critical lows.
Trotter said it's common for participation to decrease during the summer months because more people are traveling or following abnormal schedules. High schools and colleges that host blood drives also aren't in session. Still, he said the organization needs to meet a certain threshold to sustain the thousands of blood transfusions performed every day.
The Red Cross is linking current participation lows to poor air quality, extreme heat and the outbreak of widespread foodborne illnesses, which could all prevent a person from volunteering.
Trotter said there are open spots "across the board" during upcoming scheduled blood drives in Oklahoma. He is urging Oklahomans to sign up for the hour-long donation process.
"You really never know if you'll need blood; if someone you know will need blood," he said. "One donation can help save multiple lives, so if you've got an hour you can spare, you can do a lot of good with it."
He said many people incorrectly assume they aren't eligible to donate blood because of medical conditions, a medication they take or, in some cases, because of their sexual orientation. He said he encourages people to talk to their healthcare provider about their options.
"Many people who think they are ineligible actually can donate blood," Trotter said.
Other Oklahoma blood collection organizations are also feeling the strain of decreased donations. Our Blood Institute announced an emergency blood shortage earlier this month, with critically low levels of O-negative blood.
Nationally, the Red Cross hosts about 500 blood drives a day. If just three more people sign up to donate at each blood drive this summer, the blood supply will stabilize, the organization reports.
Donors of all blood types are needed. There is less than a one-day national supply of the most commonly transfused blood type, O-positive.
The Red Cross has only issued a national blood crisis once before, in January 2022.
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