The U.S. blood supply has reached crisis levels, prompting the American Red Cross and the Surgeon General’s Office to urge people to donate.
Why it matters: A prolonged blood shortage could delay surgeries, trauma care and other treatments that depend on timely blood transfusions.
Driving the news: Blood donations fell to a four-year summer low in 2026, the Red Cross said last week.
- Current supply is not keeping up with the demand for blood, which increases during the summer, the Red Cross says.
- The Red Cross attributes the low turnout of donations to extreme heat, bad air quality and “widespreadfoodborneillnesses” hitting the country.
Threat level: Community blood centers need a supply of three days or more to meet normal operating demands, per America’s Blood Centers.
- Right now, more than half of the blood centers in the South region, which includes Virginia, have less than that.
- The situation is particularly dire for type O, the most commonly transfused blood type.
- The organization says it has “less than a one-day national supply of type O positive blood and is limiting distribution of it blood to hospitals.
Context: This is only the second national blood supply crisis, according to the Red Cross.
- The last time was in January 2022 when COVID, winter storms and staffing challenges disrupted the nation’s blood supply.
- In 2024, the Red Cross said it faced an “emergency blood shortage,” though stopped short of declaring it a “crisis.”
How to donate: In metro Richmond, there’s a blood drive in nearly every part of town, offering daily appointments…