February 11, 2025 – A severe blood shortage is impacting the community, and Our Blood Institute needs your help. Recent illness outbreaks have removed the ill and their caregivers from the donor pool. Preemptive school closures and corporate and institutional drive cancellations are piling up due to impending severe weather. Work from home precautions have removed donors from their routine habits of giving blood. The net result is thousands of lost blood donation appointments. As a result, OBI’s ability to maintain a stable blood supply is critically strained. With a storm approaching, we are suffering disruptions at a time when the blood safety net is already weakened.  Immediate community support is essential to support vital medical care. 

Compounding this challenge, blood centers nationwide are struggling. Typically, in times of emergency, other blood centers could be relied on to help each other with the blood supply. However, with widespread illness and technical disruptions affecting one of the largest blood centers in the U.S., many other centers had to divert their reserve, sharable supplies to assist, leaving the national blood inventory severely drained. Without this safety buffer, we must rely on our local community to ensure patients receive the lifesaving blood they desperately need on an every-day-without-fail basis, not just achieving collections success measured by week-to-week or monthly averages.  

“The situation is dire,” said Dr. John Armitage, president and CEO of Our Blood Institute. “It’s like discovering your pantry is empty just when you need to prepare a meal—except the stores are closed, and the shelves are bare. We must act now to replenish the supply before things become a lot worse than a missed lunch or dinner.”

The urgency is further intensified by one of the most severe flu seasons in 15 years. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), "one indicator of flu activity is the percentage of doctor’s office visits driven by flu-like symptoms. Two weeks ago, that number was clearly higher than the peak of any winter flu season since 2009-2010, when a swine flu epidemic hit the nation." This widespread illness has directly impacted donor turnout for many weeks now, making blood donations more critical than ever.

Blood donations are essential for cancer patients, trauma victims, burn survivors, mothers giving birth and others facing life-threatening conditions. Right now, demand is high while donations are declining, leaving hospitals with dangerously low supplies. Every donation can mean the difference between life and death.

We urge all eligible donors to make an appointment today. Your donation is a direct lifeline for those in need. Visit www.obi.org/appeal to schedule your lifesaving donation now.

Anyone who is healthy and 16 years old* or older can give blood. Donation typically takes only about an hour, and one donation saves up to three lives. Appointments to donate can be made online at obi.org or by calling 877-340-8777. Walk-ins are also welcome. 

*16-year-olds must weigh at least 125 pounds and provide signed parental permission; 17-year-olds must weigh at least 125 pounds; 18+ year olds must weigh at least 110 pounds. Photo ID required. 

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Our Blood Institute is the sixth-largest independent blood center in the nation, with 17 donor centers in Oklahoma, Arkansas and Texas. OBI is the nonprofit blood provider for patients at more than 240 hospitals, medical facilities and air ambulances across all three states.