Photo: Nguyễn Hiệp on Unsplash.com

By Laura Durenberger-Grunow - Boreal Community Media - August 26, 2025

Earlier this month, Memorial Blood Centers announced a blood emergency in Minnesota, stating a blood inventory level below a two-day supply. Typically, a seven-day supply is required to meet hospital and patient needs throughout the state. All blood types are needed, with a more critical shortage of O-negative and O-positive types.

According to a release by Memorial Blood Centers, the decrease in donations is a result of more people going on summer vacations, school breaks, and high temperatures. At the same time, the demand for blood has increased due to a rise in trauma cases. Blood donations are used for people suffering from trauma, undergoing invasive surgeries, cancer treatment, organ donation recipients, premature babies, people during labor and delivery, and people with sickle cell or other types of anemia. 

In Cook County, a blood drive will be held at the Cook County YMCA on September 18th and 19th. For those on the west end of the county, a blood drive will be held at Silver Bay High School on 9/17. 

Memorial Blood Centers, founded in 1948, is a non-profit organization based in St. Paul, MN, and a division of the New York Blood Center, Inc.

To see if you're eligible to give blood, click here.

For more information or to schedule an appointment, visit the Memorial Blood Center website here.