BATON ROUGE - Amid an overall low donor turnout and a 30% blood donation shortfall during the first week of July, blood service provider Vitalant is facing an emergency shortage of type-O blood. 

Vitalant said Friday that in addition to the 18-month low, the provider is experiencing an acute shortage of type-O blood, with less than half of the typical four-day supply left. 

“No doctor should have to face the impossible choice of which patient receives the blood they need and who must wait,” Vitalant Chief Medical and Scientific Officer Ralph Vassallo, M.D. said. “There isn’t anything that can substitute for lifesaving blood donations from generous donors. Donors of all blood types continue to be urgently needed.”

You can donate blood any day with Vitalant, local hospitals such as Our Lady of the Lake, or blood donation centers like LifeShare.