Find a Blood Drive
Find a Blood Drive
The American Red Cross plays a crucial role in maintaining the country's blood supply, as the nation’s single largest blood supplier, contributing around 40% of all collected blood. To meet the needs of patients at about 2,500 hospitals and transfusion centers, the Red Cross must collect more than 13,000 blood and about 3,000 platelet donations daily. Requests from hospitals currently exceed the available supply of blood, drawing down the blood supply by about 35% over the past month. Without immediate action, patients who rely on transfusions — including trauma victims, mothers in childbirth and people with sickle cell disease or cancer — face serious risk.
Weather
Several things can contribute to the Red Cross declaring a severe blood shortage. Inclement weather like snowstorms and hurricanes, and natural disasters can all decrease the amount of blood donations that are collected. Last month alone, about 400 blood drives were impacted due to extreme winter weather — more than three times the number of blood drives affected during the same time the previous year.
Seasonal Illness
Additionally, hospitals already strained by the worst flu season in nearly 20 years are now also being forced to triage critical blood products. High flu activity in nearly every state may be sidelining donors, slowing efforts to rebuild the Red Cross national blood supply.
With fewer donors, even minor blood collection disruptions can significantly impact blood product availability, potentially leading to dire consequences for patients requiring emergency blood transfusions. The current hospital demand for blood outpaces incoming donations.
First-time donors and those who give regularly are critical to blood supply recovery. After all, your one blood donation can help more than one patient. To make an appointment, download the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit RedCrossBlood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).