Las Vegas, Nevada – The nation is facing an emergency blood shortage, according to the American Red Cross.
Extreme heat and recent natural disasters are affecting the blood supply, the nonprofit says.
Not only is there a shortage of donations across the country, but there is also a specific need for Type O blood, according to Vitalant, an Arizona-based nonprofit that operates blood banks nationwide.
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To help meet the need, Vitalant is holding more than 50 blood drives this month in parts of Nevada.
“My best friend almost died in a car accident when I was, like, 19 or 20 — so I’ve seen the power of blood donations,” blood donor Nina Duren told Fox News.
The nation is facing an emergency blood shortage, according to the American Red Cross. (iStock)
Duren has been donating blood a couple of times a year for the last 15 years.
“It’s a life-saving thing I can do that costs me nothing but an hour of my time,” she said.
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Another donor, Sheila Macdonell Spiess, is a retired trauma nurse. In the 47 years of her nursing career, she said there has always been a need for blood.
“People are always in car accidents, stabbings, unfortunately, or gunshot wounds, or [there are] people with leukemia,” she told Fox News.
“We always have a need. It doesn’t matter what time of year.”
