Critical Blood Shortage Reported Nationwide; OBI Launches Hotline To Help Oklahomans Who Wish To Donate

The blood supply level in Oklahoma is at shockingly low levels, health care officials said.

Oklahoma is not alone. The deficit is happening nationwide.

The demand for blood up across the country is exacerbating the problem.

Some hospitals have been forced to take extreme measures, like hospitals in Louisiana and New York where they postponed surgeries because of a lack of blood.

Some doctors said they fear they could run out during an operation.

A major reason for the blood shortage is the pandemic.

Before COVID-19, 25% of blood supply came from blood drives at schools and universities.

It only takes 10 minutes to donate a unit of blood, which could be life or death for someone else.

"You may even be protecting your own loved one, because the shortage is such now that if we had a mass trauma, we don't have enough supply to say with full confidence that everyone who needs blood will get some,” said Dr. John Armitage, Oklahoma Blood Institute president.

The OBI has a new hotline at 888-308-3924 to help people find out if they are eligible to donate blood and also ask about any other concerns they may have.