Donations sought as Red Cross laments 'severe' blood shortage

Max Reinhart, The Detroit News on Jan 20, 2026

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The Red Cross is appealing to past donors and potential new donors as it says a "severe blood shortage" could result in delays for surgeries and other medical procedures.

During a virtual news briefing Tuesday, officials said there was a 35% reduction in blood donations nationally in December. That equates to about 40,000 units of blood. More than 42,000 units are used by patients across the country every day, according to the Red Cross.

"The need for blood is constant," said Scot Dinsmor, blood account manager, American Red Cross Michigan Region. "In order to meet that need we need the generosity of donors."

Blood only has a shelf life of 42 days, so hospitals require constant replenishment. Officials said when hospitals are low on blood, it can result in surgeries being postponed.

"Sometimes what we can do depends on what we have to give patients," said Dr. Jensyn K. Cone Sullivan, a transfusion medicine and blood bank physician at Michigan Medicine. A steady supply "truly is the difference between life and death for many patients who visit our institution."

Sullivan said University Hospital in Ann Arbor requires around 60,000 "blood products" (which can include red blood cells, plasma and platelets) per year and needs about 200 products on hand each day to ensure it can meet patients' needs. Currently, she said, the hospital is treating a young person who requires upwards of 100 blood products a day due to a severe hemorrhage.

The Red Cross is attributing the shortfall to two main factors: extreme cold and widespread cases of influenza.

Dinsmore said inclement weather last month led to the cancelation of 400 Red Cross blood drives across the U.S., including 12 in Michigan. He also believes that the "worst flu season in nearly 20 years might be sidelining donors."

He said "immediate action" is needed to ensure that health care facilities have ample supply for patients who need it for issues like trauma, surgeries, childbirth and diseases.

Jennifer Douglas of Howell knows first-hand how important it is for hospitals to have a readily available supply.

In 2011, she had back-to-back unrelated medical incidents that required her to receive a total of 38 units of blood, plus 31 units of plasma and platelets. She said the transfusions saved not just her life, but that of her then-unborn son.

"I would not be alive today if that blood was not already waiting for me," she said. Now, she and her family "live our lives every day with overwhelming gratitude to blood donors."

Douglas now co-hosts two blood drives each year to show her gratitude and to help make sure others who face similar emergencies have access to blood.

"If you've never donated before I want you to know that you could be someone's hero," she said.

Dinsmor said on Jan. 5 the organization announced it was "teetering" on a shortage. Donors at that time "stepped up and answered the call."

But with numbers falling again, Red Cross workers have been contacting past donors and urging them to make plans to give again.

The shortage is most pressing for blood types O, A-negative and B-negative, he said.

Dr. Lance Wells, emergency medicine physician at Hillsdale Hospital said it was "absolutely imperative" that Michiganians give blood.

"There's an expectation that if you need blood and you come to the hospital, come to the emergency department, that we can give you blood," Wells said.

Donating blood generally takes about an hour and the actual withdrawal process usually takes no more than 10 minutes, officials said. Drives are regularly held at schools, places of worship and the Red Cross' nine donation centers across the state.

In Michigan, people as young as 16 can donate blood with parental consent.

Potential donors can find blood drives or donation centers by calling 1-800-RED-CROSS, visiting redcrossblood.org or downloading the Blood Donor American Red Cross app.

Anyone who gives blood by Jan. 25 will be automatically entered in a contest to win a trip for two to Super Bowl LX, Feb. 8 in Santa Clara, California.

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