A regional blood bank has declared an emergency due to a seriously low blood supply as healthcare workers head into the summer “trauma season” and prepare for upcoming FIFA World Cup soccer games planned in the New York City area.

The New York Blood Center announced Tuesday its overall blood supply had dropped to only a two-day inventory — and only a one-day inventory for Type O, or universal donor, blood. The blood bank, which operates in the New York City area and parts of the Hudson Valley, said donations are down nearly 15%, about 4,500 fewer donations than needed to meet hospital demand across the region.

“All blood types are desperately needed, but Types A-, B- and O+/O- have hit dangerously low levels in the region,” the center said in a news release, also noting that the timing of the need is coinciding with logistical challenges posed by the World Cup and other major events that will attract tourists to the New York-New Jersey area.

Mary Alice Molgard, a spokeswoman for the American Red Cross of Eastern New York, said their supply is not at an emergency level, but agreed several factors have decreased supply and may increase demand.

“We’re kind of perpetually in a need for blood,” she said.

Monday also kicked off the start of what’s known as “trauma season,” a stretch of time from Memorial Day to Labor Day during which doctors observe more Emergency Department visits (the observations are also backed up by a number of studies showing an increase in certain injuries in the spring and summer). It’s also when donations typically drop.

“Summer is a notoriously slow time,” Molgard said. “People are off doing fun things, and donating blood sometimes goes on the back burner.”

The Red Cross is also still working to increase blood drives at schools and colleges that were canceled during the coronavirus pandemic, she said. Those opportunities dry up during the summer. She said the New York Blood Center’s announcement underscores the overall need for donors.

“It takes 15 minutes to set up an appointment with the Red Cross,” she said. “And it doesn’t take long to donate blood.”