Overview
- The Kentucky Blood Center told hospitals it cannot meet 100% of blood orders because inventories have dropped below the levels needed to fill all requests.
- Hospital transfusions rose about 40% over the past week, sharply increasing demand on an already reduced supply.
- KBC is issuing urgent appeals for O-positive and O-negative donors and is offering appointments and mobile drives at eight centers and 20 mobile sites across the state.
- Officials say summer factors such as fewer school and college drives and a difficult trauma season have helped push donations down for a second consecutive year.
- The local shortage exists alongside a broader American Red Cross-declared national crisis with supplies down roughly 25%, prompting distribution limits and donor incentives nationwide.