Emergency Blood Shortage Declared by Farmington Blood Bank, Vitalant

The pandemic changed how people work and live, which has created lasting challenges in maintaining an adequate blood supply. Last year was the lowest level in blood supply for 900 hospitals across the nation. A blood supply emergency was declared by Vitalant, a national nonprofit blood services provider in January. Your blood is vital, it saves lives. Blood donations are essential for trauma and cancer patients, for people undergoing surgeries, transplants, and for those with chronic illnesses and blood disorders. You're watching the Local News Network brought to you by Pop's Truck and RV Center and Boone's Family Thai Barbecue, I'm Wendy Graham Settle.

We do anywhere between 150 and 180 blood drives throughout the entire state of New Mexico, mobile blood drives that is my apologies. And, so if you go to vitalant.org, you can put in your location or your zip code and it'll tell you where there's a mobile blood drive in your area.

In addition, recent blood drive cancellations forced by severe winter weather and illnesses have only compounded the shortage. New donors and those who haven't donated recently are critical to helping relieve the blood shortage. As hospital patients needs remain strong.

We've dipped down to probably close to 50% less than where we were last year, so we are at any emergency shortage. You know, hospitals are having to make those decisions now because we're down to about two days worth of O type blood in the hospitals, and that's the one that they reach for during emergencies. So they're getting to a point now to where they're really having to decide whether to keep those surgeries that they have been scheduled for the last several months to reschedule them for a later date to keep the blood on the shelves for those emergencies that might arise.

At Vitalant in Midtown Farmington, walk-ins are welcome. Donor procedures are simple and only takes about 15 minutes.

The emergency low right now is really O, you know, the O positive and O negative, but all blood types, please, we need them all.

Type O positive is the most transfused blood type, while negative O can help patients of any blood type. Donated platelets help cancer patients and must be used within one week. For Farmington Vitalant hours and information, visit their Facebook page or go online to Vitalant's website. Thank you for watching this edition of the Local News Network, I'm Wendy Graham Settle.