Nebraska Community Blood Bank has declared a blood emergency. Due to the on-going heatwave, summer travel and a recent spike in COVID-19 cases, blood donations have decreased significantly over the past several weeks.
Outreach Community Represenative Kari Lundeen says they currently only have a 1-2 day supply of all blood types, well below their ideal 5-7 day level. She says staffing shortages has also hurt blood donations.
“Fifty percent of all the blood supply came from blood drives and, because we’re in a staffing shortage, we’re not able to be out in the community and make it as convenient as possible for everyone to donate blood.
Hospitals in the region and patients rely on life-saving blood donations. You can schedule an appointment today: ncbb.org/donate