LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The American Red Cross supplies critical blood donations to most hospitals in the Las Vegas valley, but now the Red Cross says they’re facing a severe shortage.
“As the coronavirus cases increase throughout the United States, so there are less healthy individuals, so we want healthy individuals to give blood right now,” says Cynthia De La Torre, American Red Cross.
The American Red Cross says over one hundred blood drives have been canceled across Southern Nevada, leading to over 3,000 uncollected blood donations.
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The Red Cross says it’s a race against the clock for so many blood recipients.
“Whether it be cancer patients for their chemotherapy and radiation treatments that do not stop, open heart surgeries patients that can’t be delayed,” says De La Torre.
“We cannot stockpile blood, it has a shelf life of 42 days, so as soon as we’re receiving that blood, we’re supplying it to hospitals,” says De La Torre.
The American Red Cross has a blood drive scheduled for Thursday from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at 444 E Warm Springs Rd Suite #101.
