Blood Emergency: Nebraska experiencing ‘dangerously low levels’ of some blood types

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - The Nebraska Community Blood Bank announced a blood emergency on Thursday following a summer of low donor turnout. Contributing to the shortage are the recent Labor Day holiday, back-to-school activities, and a prolonged 50% decrease in youth and first-time donors.

NCBB said the region’s blood supply is well below the optimal 5-7 days and while all blood types are needed, types O+, O-, B-, and platelets are critically low.

“The days of having a blood drive at your place of work, your place of worship, every school and college have drastically changed due to the pandemic, and we need community members to find a donor center or a community blood drive to make a donation,” said Kathy Geist, VP of Nebraska Community Blood Bank. “It is critical that our community come out in response to our blood emergency to help us rebuild our inventory and ensure that we have life-saving blood for patients in our hospitals. You never know when you might need blood, so pay it forward by making a donation today.”

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