The Community Blood Center (CBC) has announced that the blood shortage has reached emergency levels as fears of the COVID-19 Delta variant are leading to an even greater drop in donations. Though the region has been experiencing a chronic blood shortage since the onset of the pandemic, the local supply has further dropped to a less than three-day supply of readily available blood.

Patsy Shipley, Executive Director of Community Blood Center, says, “We are deeply worried by the recent drop in donations — at this concerning time it’s critical that healthy donors continue to come forward to help their neighbors. We thought we’d see our local blood supply recover with the return of school blood drives in the fall, but fears surrounding the Delta variant are presenting significant obstacles. A robust blood supply is essential for our healthcare system to function and we must do everything we can to strengthen it at this time of uncertainty.”

Health officials say donating blood is safe, and it only takes one hour. The CBC is taking extra precautions to help prevent the person-to-person spread of COVID-19. All donors and CBC staff are required to wear a face covering, and staff are practicing health self-assessments prior to presenting at work. As always, people are not eligible to donate if they’re experiencing a cold, sore throat, respiratory infection or flu-like symptoms.

To schedule an appointment, call (877) 468-6844 or go to <https://donate.savealifenow.org/donor/schedules/zip> and type in your zip code to find a blood drive or center near you.