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
