Times Observer photo by Brian Ferry Community Blood Bank collections tech Michelle Wiltsie prepares a donor Thursday at a drive at Warren General Hospital in the Bloodmobile.

Local, state, and national officials and organizations are worried about the supply of blood.

On Thursday, the Pennsylvania Department of Health issued a press release to “sound the alarm over critical blood shortage.

The American Red Cross issued its first ever blood crisis alert in January.

Turnout was low at a mobile drive in Warren.

“The blood supply has been very low,” Community Blood Bank Mobile Drive Coordinator Shari Jerman said. Recent weather and ongoing COVID-19 issues have contributed to decreased donations and canceled drives, she said.

“There is… has been for some time… a national and state-wide shortage of blood,” Warren General Hospital CEO Rick Allen said. “With increased inpatient admissions of very ill patients and specifically increased surgical volume, the demand for blood is outpacing the supply.”

“All hospitals including Warren General need a constant supply of blood generated through donations,” Allen said. “We applaud those who consistently donate and encourage those who have not donated blood to step up and help. Blood is critical for the hospital to care for patients.”

“At Warren General Hospital we are experiencing a very specific shortage of O-positive and O-negative blood,” he said. “Although O blood type is universal – can be used by all blood types – if you are O-positive or O-negative, you must only receive the same type… O-positive or O-negative.”

Warren General is low, but not at the point of canceling procedures.

It’s close.

“We monitor our blood supply very carefully and although we are not at the point of crisis – canceling surgery – this could very quickly happen absent donations of all blood types,” Allen said.

“Pennsylvania Physician General Dr. Denise Johnson and Patrick Bradley, President and CEO of the Central Pennsylvania Blood Bank, today expressed their growing concern over the dramatically decreasing number of volunteers who regularly donate blood, during a news conference highlighting the critical need for blood donation across the commonwealth,” according to the DOH release.

“The critical shortage of blood across Pennsylvania and the nation is still a major concern as COVID-19 has prevented some donors from giving blood and impacted the scheduling of blood drives,” Johnson said. “Blood is essential for surgeries, traumatic injuries, cancer treatment and chronic illnesses, which is why it is so important for individuals to go to their local blood bank or find a blood drive near them and donate.”

“An adequate supply of blood is essential to ensure Pennsylvanians have safe, continuous access to the highest quality of health care,” she said. “I encourage all Pennsylvanians to consider giving blood.”

The Red Cross crisis alert generated a positive response, but not a long-term solution.

“We’ve witnessed the generosity of blood donors nationwide,” according to the release from Greater Pennsylvania Region Communications and Marketing Director Lisa Landis. “So many have rolled up their sleeves to help ensure patients counting on blood product transfusions can receive lifesaving care without delay.”

“As winter presses on, the Red Cross blood supply remains at dangerously low levels,” Landis said. “We need people to continue making the earliest-available appointments in our community in the weeks ahead to combat threats to the blood supply – like recent severe winter storms across the country – that can challenge the ability of the Red Cross to recover from our worst blood shortage in more than a decade.”

There are Community Blood Bank drives set for noon to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 15, at Holy Redeemer Center in Warren; and noon to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 16, at Youngsville Fire Hall.

A Red Cross drive will be held from 1 to 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 7, at First Presbyterian Church in Warren.