The American Red Cross is facing a national blood crisis which poses a risk for patients across the United States.
Calling it the "worst" blood shortage in over a decade, the Red Cross said 10 percent of overall blood donations have declined since March 2020 – when the U.S. first went under COVID-19 lockdowns.
"Doctors have been forced to make difficult decisions about who receives blood transfusions and who will need to wait until more products become available," the Red Cross reports.
The decrease in blood donations can be attributed to the drop in student donations, blood drive cancellations, weather-related closures, staffing limitations, and the surge of COVID-19 cases.
Back in January, the Red Cross offered the chance to win tickets to the Super Bowl if they donated blood by Jan. 31.
Other donation centers have created ways to attract potential donors. Suncoast Blood began offering a minivan that will come to you to donate blood. OneBlood has a service that lets donors follow their blood to see where it goes — even a potential email from the person who receives it.
There is no synthetic alternative to blood and can only be made available through volunteer donors, Red Cross notes.
The most needed blood types include Type O Positive, Type O Negative and platelets. However, all blood types are urgently needed to help stop the blood crisis.