Events

Post expires at 11:13am on Monday August 31st, 2026

American Red Cross Declares National Blood Crisis

Blood donations have fallen to a four-year summer low nationwide. All blood types are needed, but with less than a one-day supply of type O positive blood, patient care is at risk unless more people donate.

SALT LAKE CITY (July 27, 2026) — The American Red Cross on Monday declared a national blood crisis for only the second time in its history as blood donations continue to fall short of hospital demand.

Blood donations have fallen to a four-year summer low. Although all blood types are needed, supplies of type O blood have dropped so sharply that the Red Cross is limiting distributions of O positive and O negative blood to hospitals. The supply of O positive blood is now below one day. When blood supplies fall this low, surgeries may be postponed and patients who need transfusions can face dangerous delays in care.

“We cannot manufacture blood, and there is no substitute for a donor who takes an hour to give,” said Heidi Ruster, Chief Executive Officer of the American Red Cross Utah/Nevada Region. “We’re grateful to the thousands of people who have donated this month. That response has helped, but it hasn’t been enough to reverse the decline.”

The only previous national blood crisis was declared in January 2022 as the nation emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Why a Drop in Type O Blood Matters

Type O negative and O positive blood are used every day for trauma care, surgeries and cancer treatment. Maintaining the supply can be more difficult during the summer, when travel and changing schedules often lead to a decline in blood donations.

Type O blood is important in emergency care. Type O positive is the most transfused blood type and can be given to people with a positive blood type, which includes about 80% of the population. Type O negative can be given to patients of any blood type. Only about 7% of the population has type O negative blood, but hospitals rely on it in emergencies.

How to Help End the Blood Crisis

Help end this crisis by giving blood now and continuing to donate in the future. Donors can make an appointment through the Red Cross Blood Donor App, at redcross.org/GiveBlood or by calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).

All Utahns who come to give blood or platelets July 13-31, 2026, will receive a Fandango Movie Ticket by email, up to a $15 ticket price and fees. Those who come to give Aug. 1-31, 2026, will receive a $20 Amazon Gift Card by email. Additional details are available at RedCrossBlood.org/July and RedCrossBlood.org/August.

How the Blood Crisis Developed

On July 13, the American Red Cross declared a blood emergency after the national blood supply dropped nearly 25% in one month. Blood donations and scheduled appointments have declined sharply since late May, widening the gap between available blood and hospital demand.

The Red Cross supplies about 40% of the nation’s blood to more than 2,500 hospitals and transfusion centers, including nearly 45 hospitals across Utah. Nationwide, the Red Cross must collect about 13,000 blood donations and 3,000 platelet donations every day to meet patient needs.

Post expires at 12:43pm on Monday August 31st, 2026

Post expires at 2:26pm on Monday August 31st, 2026

SALT LAKE CITY – Due to rapidly increasing fire danger, the Bureau of Land Management is implementing fire restrictions beginning June 4 on all BLM-managed lands in the BLM West Desert District. Fire restrictions apply to Box Elder, Cache, Juab, Millard, Morgan, Rich, Salt Lake, Summit, Tooele, Utah, Wasatch, and Weber counties in Utah.

From June 4 until rescinded, the fire prevention order prohibits:

• The use of any steel component ammunition of any caliber.
• The use of any steel component target.
• The use of any sky lanterns, Chinese lanterns, fire balloons, acetylene balloons, or similar device.
• The use of any Off-Highway Vehicle that is not equipped with a properly installed and maintained spark arrestor. Spark arresters shall meet the 80 percent efficiency level standard when determined by the appropriate Society of Automotive Engineers recommended practices J335 and J350. Refer to Title 43 CFR §8343.1.

The BLM asks target shooters to know their ammunition before visiting public lands. Ammunition packaging may not indicate the presence of steel in the bullet, especially in military surplus and foreign-made ammunition. To determine whether a bullet contains steel, test with a magnet. Orange or red painted tips may indicate tracer ammunition which can ignite flammable substances, such as dry grass, upon contact.

BLM statewide fire prevention order UT914-25-001 prohibits fireworks, explosives of any kind, and tracer and incendiary ammunition year-round.

To prevent a wildfire, the public should:

• Fully extinguish campfires and avoid building fires when winds are 15 mph or higher.
• Avoid target shooting in hot, dry and windy conditions.
• Choose a target shooting backstop free of rocks and dry grass – any bullet hitting rocks can create a spark.
• Avoid cutting, welding or grinding of metal in areas of dry vegetation.
• Keep trailer chains lifted above the ground – dragging chains can create sparks.
• Avoid parking a hot vehicle over dry grass.
• Maintain tires, wheels and bearing on trailers to prevent mechanical failure.
• Check off-highway vehicle exhaust system yearly to ensure the spark arrester is mounted securely and is qualified.
• Fully extinguish and properly dispose of cigarettes.

BLM prevention orders are available at Utah – Fire Restrictions | Bureau of Land Management (blm.gov) and on utahfireinfo.gov. The public is reminded to use caution to prevent wildfires when visiting public lands. Please be prepared with water, a shovel and a fire extinguisher handy during the dry summer months. In the event of a fire, call 911 immediately.

For more details on the prevention order, contact the BLM Salt Lake Field Office at 801-320-8300.

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