LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Local providers in Southern Nevada are raising alarms about a critically low supply of blood in the valley.
Calls for more volunteers to give blood are at an all-time high across the nation, as the supply for 900 hospitals across the nation has also recently dipped to dangerously low levels.
"It's always good to give back when you can," Nate Stepman said. He donates three times a year because he knows what it feels like to need blood.
"I had a traumatic experience when I was younger and I needed blood. So I figure it's my duty to give back what someone did for me," said Stepman.
Clark County's shortage caused one local supplier, Vitalant, to issue an emergency warning. The company says that while December and January are traditionally the slowest donation months, but donors are still urgently needed.
Brittany Estrella, a Communications Manager at Vitalant, says they've faced a major donor shortage since COVID-19, when 90,000 potential donations were lost after blood drives were temporarily discontinued.
"During the pandemic with the low-level blood supply we saw selected surgeries had to be rescheduled and we want to be sure we don't face that same situation again," she said.
She also says many blood drives were also recently canceled after severe weather storms hit the midwest and the east coast.
"We need donors who haven't come in a while or those who never donated to come in and donate now because we are experiencing tremendous low levels here in las vegas and nationwide," said Estrella.
The American Red Cross also says their supply is low.
Rachel Flanigan, the Executive Director of the Red Cross, urges all eligible donors of all blood types — especially those with Type O — to donate. Flanigan says that blood is shared between states and Nevada can be seriously impacted when supplies run low on a national level.
On the other hand, Flanigan says, Nevada also is a major national contributor when other states are in need of blood, but only if local donors step forward.
"We have to make sure that we have the book on the shelves right when we need it and not have to make up the difference," said Flanigan.
Anyone interested in donating has until Jan. 31 to donate blood at Vitalant or Red Cross for a chance to win tickets to Super Bowl LVII.
