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One of Utah’s largest hospitals nearly ran out of donated blood this weekend, and on Monday delayed at least one surgery to avoid running out again. Now health experts are pleading for donors in coming weeks as blood shortages sweep the nation. “This weekend we had a point where we didn’t have a single O-positive unit on our shelf. That was the scariest time in my 30 years of transfusion medicine,” said Dr. Sarah Illstrup, who oversees clinical pathology at Intermountain Medical Center. (Alberty, 6/29)

Call volumes at the JMS Burn Center double on the Fourth of July from accidents related to fireworks and grilling. “We commonly see these injuries associated with alcohol,” chief clinical officer at Burn and Reconstructive Centers of America, Beretta Craft-Coffman said. “Whether that be fireworks or grilling. So be sure that you have a sober shooter.” Craft-Coffman says burns from Fourth July weekend are most common on the face and hands. ... But unfortunately for those burned badly and are in need of a blood transfusion, we are experiencing a nation wide blood shortage. “We do need products to meet that need,” director of community resources for Shepeard Blood, Ashley Whitaker said. “Plasma and blood donations are really important for anybody who has suffered burns.” (Calkins, 6/28)

In the time it takes you to read this sentence, at least two people in the U.S. will require a blood transfusion. The need arises every two seconds, according to the FDA.As the COVID-19 pandemic stretches into its 17th month on the Treasure Coast, local blood banks are more than ever in need of donations. “It’s probably the most challenging situation we have faced,” said Susan Forbes, spokesperson for nonprofit OneBlood, which supplies blood to over 200 hospitals across the South. (Leake, 6/30)

When mass casualty incidents like the June 12 shooting that killed one and injured 13 others in Austin, Texas, occur, local blood needs can often be supplemented by neighboring regional organizations. A national blood shortage has left most regional providers unable to spare much, however. The American Red Cross and Oklahoma Blood Institute are each facing emergency low levels of blood products and urging Oklahomans to donate before the shortage becomes a crisis. (Douglas, 6/30)

Healthcare workers know firsthand that the blood shortage is at a critical level. “The supply has been so low, blood centers have had to be really judicious about giving out product,” said Shawna Langworth a nurse at Riley Hospital for Children. Over the past week, blood units have been especially low across Indiana hospitals. Donations are down 40% over the past year due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Carter, 6/29)

Demand for blood is up and supply is down, causing the Northeast Ohio Red Cross and area hospitals to encourage blood donations this summer. “It’s always a difficult time for the American Red Cross to collect blood in the summer, but this summer even more so because we’re coming out of the (COVID-19) pandemic and things are getting back to normal… and that means they’re not thinking about things like donating blood,” said Christy Peters, a spokesperson for the American Red Cross Northern Ohio Region. (Ryan, 6/28)

The Dayton region and the state of Ohio are experiencing a blood shortage, prompting calls for donations and medical staff to conserve supplies ahead of the holiday weekend. “There is great concern that some patients may not be able to receive life saving infusions of blood and blood products despite current efforts to conserve these resources,” Ohio Division of EMS Executive Director Rob Wagoner said in a news release. (Conroy, 6/29)