{"id":254980,"date":"2026-07-29T21:56:07","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T21:56:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/254980\/"},"modified":"2026-07-29T21:56:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T21:56:07","slug":"red-cross-declares-national-blood-supply-crisis-amid-severe-shortage-how-you-can-help-pennsylvania-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/254980\/","title":{"rendered":"Red Cross declares national blood supply crisis amid severe shortage, how you can help | Pennsylvania News"},"content":{"rendered":"

The American Red Cross has declared it’s second-ever National Blood Supply Crisis.<\/p>\n

The severe blood shortage has officials urging eligible donors to roll up their sleeves.<\/p>\n

The Red Cross said they have less than one-day national supply of type O positive blood. That’s the most commonly transfused blood type, saving the lives of patients facing critical and life-threatening emergencies across the US.<\/p>\n

Cristina Maisel, Regional Communications Manager for the American Red Cross of Greater Pennsylvania said this is the second time in history that the Red Cross has declared a blood crisis.<\/p>\n

“The previous one was back in COVID. Right now, we are seeing a four-year summer low in blood collections, and right now, hospital demand is outpacing what is coming in,” said Maisel.<\/p>\n

Maisel said there are some factors that contribute to the low supply, including the summer season, with people traveling and not in their regular routines. This year, a mix of the extreme heat and poor air quality has also kept a lot of people inside of their homes.<\/p>\n

But the statistics show that every two seconds, someone in the country needs blood.<\/p>\n

“You never know when that’s going to be your loved one or your neighbor or your coworker. So it’s so important that we all come out and help,” Maisel said.<\/p>\n

Basic qualifications for Pennsylvania residents include being 17-years-old or 16-years-old with parental consent, weighing at least 110 pounds and feeling healthy.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002<\/p>\n

“Knowing you’re helping a hospital patient, it’s just such a great feeling,” Maisel said.<\/p>\n

Appointments can be booked by visiting RedCrossBlood.org<\/a> or calling 1-800-RED CROSS.<\/p>\n

AMERICAN RED CROSS BLOOD DONATION OPPORTUNITIES<\/p>\n

JULY 27 – AUGUST 15 , 2026<\/p>\n

BERKS COUNTY<\/p>\n

July 28, 1:15 p.m. – 5:45 p.m.: American Legion Ray A. Master Post 217, 133 Centre Ave., Topton<\/p>\n

July 30, 1 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.: Fred Beans Ford of Boyertown, 525 PA-100, Boyertown<\/p>\n

August 7, 11 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.: Medical Office Building, 101 Wellness Wy, Reading<\/p>\n

August 8, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.: Gouglersville Fire. Co. No.1, 475 Mohns Hill Rd., Reading<\/p>\n

CARBON COUNTY<\/p>\n

July 27, 12 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.: Jim Thorpe Market, 1 River Rd., Jim Thorpe<\/p>\n

LEHIGH COUNTY<\/p>\n

July 31, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.: Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest – Kasych Building, 1200 S Cedar Crest Blvd., Allentown<\/p>\n

August 1, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.: American Red Cross Pennsylvania Rivers Chapter, 3939 Broadway, Allentown<\/p>\n

August 8, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.: Muslim Association of Lehigh Valley, 1988 Schadt Ave., Whitehall<\/p>\n

August 12, 11 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.: LVCIL, 713 N 13th St., Allentown<\/p>\n

August 13, 10:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.: Lehigh Valley Hospital-Muhlenberg North Entrance 2545 Building, 2545 Schoenersville Rd., Bethlehem<\/p>\n

August 13, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.: Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest – Kasych Building, 1200 S Cedar Crest Blvd., Allentown<\/p>\n

MONROE COUNTY<\/p>\n

July 30, 10:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.: Baymont Inn and Suites, 116 Turtlewalk Ln., Bartonsville<\/p>\n

July 31, 12 p.m. – 5 p.m.: Monroe County Meals on Wheels, 901 Polk Valley Rd., Stroudsburg<\/p>\n

July 31, 12 p.m. – 5 p.m.: VFW Post # 3448, 119 VFW Dr., Tobyhanna<\/p>\n

August 4, 1:30 p.m. – 6 p.m.: A Pocono Country Place E Club House, 112 Recreation Dr., Tobyhanna<\/p>\n

August 11, 1:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.: St. Johns Catholic Church, 5171 Milford Rd., Route 209, East Stroudsburg<\/p>\n

August 12, 9:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.: Eastern Monroe Public Library, 1002 North 9th St., Stroudsburg<\/p>\n

August 14, 12:30 p.m. – 5 p.m.: Cornerstone Community Church, 388 Polk Township Rd., Kresgeville<\/p>\n

August 15, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.: Lehigh Valley Hospital-Pocono Cancer Center, 181 E Brown St., East Stroudsburg<\/p>\n

NORTHAMPTON COUNTY<\/p>\n

July 29, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.: Forks Township Community Center, 500 Zucksville Rd., Easton<\/p>\n

July 29, 12 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.: The Center Lehigh Valley, 529 East Broad St., Bethlehem<\/p>\n

August 14, 1 p.m. – 6 p.m.: Charles Chrin Community Center, 4100 Green Pond Rd., Easton<\/p>\n

SCHUYLKILL COUNTY<\/p>\n

July 28, 1 p.m. – 6 p.m.: St Andrews United Methodist Church, 1382 W Main St., Valley View<\/p>\n

July 30, 12 p.m. – 5 p.m.: Friedensburg Fire Company, 1357 Long Run Rd., Friedensburg<\/p>\n

July 30, 1 p.m. – 6 p.m.: Trinity Lutheran Church, 300 West Arch St., Pottsville<\/p>\n

July 31, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.: Fairlane Village Mall, 7211 Fairlane Village Mall, Pottsville<\/p>\n

August 3, 1 p.m. – 6 p.m.: Christ’s United Lutheran Church, 437 Airport Rd., (Gordon), Ashland<\/p>\n

August 10, 1 p.m. – 6 p.m.: Frackville Elks 1533, 307 South Third St., Frackville<\/p>\n

August 12, 1 p.m. – 6 p.m.: Masonic Lodge, 1000 E. Market St., Orwigsburg<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The American Red Cross has declared it’s second-ever National Blood Supply Crisis. The severe blood shortage has officials…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":254981,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[214,119,121,120,279,6290,805,28],"class_list":["post-254980","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-allentown","tag-_homepage_top_stories","tag-allentown","tag-allentown-headlines","tag-allentown-news","tag-berks","tag-easton-area","tag-lehighvalley","tag-pennsylvania"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254980","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=254980"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254980\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/254981"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=254980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=254980"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=254980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}