Blood supply ‘dangerously low’ in Northeast Wisconsin

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) – The Community Blood Center reported blood usage jumping 14% over the summer, creating a shortage of all blood types.

“Right now the blood supply is actually very dangerously low,” chief operating officer Kristine Belanger said.

Belanger showed Action 2 News their shelves holding blood bags.

“They’re pretty bare. Every day we are challenged to meet the blood needs of the community. We have successfully been able to do that but it’s been very challenging.”

While The Community Blood Center said donations are good, they aren’t able to keep up with the pace.

“People are out and about so there are more incidents where people need blood but there are actually everyday medical emergencies that happen all the time and as we know this is a tourist mecca so we have a lot more people in the area and use a lot more blood,” Belanger explained.

According to the Community Blood Center, every two seconds someone in the United States needs blood. That’s 35,000 donations necessary every day.

The shortage is nationwide.

The American Red Cross said Hurricane Idalia didn’t just lead to widespread power outages and flooding, it forced people to cancel dozens of vital blood drives.

“This compounded a shortfall of about 30,000 donations in August. Right now, blood product distributions to hospitals are outpacing the number of blood donations coming in,” the American Red Cross wrote in a press release.

Back in our area, The Community Blood Center is hopeful they can get back on track.

“It’s the start of the school season so high schools and colleges getting back on the blood drive calendar is certainly going to be helpful and as people transition to a normal schedule that’s also going to be helpful.”

You can schedule a donation at the Community Blood Center at communityblood.org or find a Red Cross blood drive near you at redcrossblood.org.

If you can’t donate, you can still help by hosting a blood drive or volunteering your time.

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