--- title: Winter Weather Creates Blood Shortages in the East description: Severe winter weather has caused a blood donation shortage, according to the American Red Cross, with many blood drives canceled from storms canonical: https://time.com/5096917/winter-weather-blood-donation-shortage-east/ author: Andee Erickson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-01-10T17:34:50.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-12T23:01:02.000Z article:section: Health og:title: There’s a Massive Blood Shortage This Winter og:description: Here’s how you can help og:url: https://time.com/5096917/winter-weather-blood-donation-shortage-east/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0de3192f4dc9ed4e/6988e27bfb4eacc229894348/gettyimages-548001551.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5138 og:image:height: 2890 og:image:alt: Blood donation clinic og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: There’s a Massive Blood Shortage This Winter twitter:description: Here’s how you can help twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0de3192f4dc9ed4e/6988e27bfb4eacc229894348/gettyimages-548001551.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # There’s a Massive Blood Shortage This Winter. Here’s How You Can Help > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Health Matters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Health Matters is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The latest health news and expert advice on living well. Health Matters makes the fast-moving world of health more useful, surprising and human, from the latest science and medical breakthroughs to practical ideas for living better. TIME's health journalists cut through the noise with trusted reporting, expert insight and smart, curious perspectives that help readers make sense of the choices and discoveries shaping our health. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ## Video: It May Be Risky for Men to Receive Blood Donations From Women Who Have Been Pregnant [Watch (HLS stream): It May Be Risky for Men to Receive Blood Donations From Women Who Have Been Pregnant](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/b84Jrucb.m3u8) (1:31)  _Published 2017-10-19. Men and women are biologically different, and that may apply to their blood as well — at least for women who have been pregnant._ by [Andee Erickson](https://time.com/author/andee-erickson/) ## Andee Erickson Updated: Dec 12, 2023 11:01 PM UTCPublished: Jan 10, 2018 5:34 PM UTC  Blood donation clinic. Bags of donated red blood cells hanging in a blood donation centre. The red blood cells have been separated from the plasma and platelets. Blood donation clinic. Bags of donated red blood cells hanging in a blood donation centre. The red blood cells have been separated from the plasma and platelets. THOMAS FREDBERG/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY—Getty Images/Science Photo Library RM by [Andee Erickson](https://time.com/author/andee-erickson/) ## Andee Erickson Updated: Dec 12, 2023 11:01 PM UTCPublished: Jan 10, 2018 5:34 PM UTC The American Red Cross is making an urgent call for blood and platelet donations of all blood types to help combat a blood shortage, after [severe winter weather](http://time.com/5089443/snow-totals-bomb-cyclone-east-coast/) caused January blood bank donations to drop by the thousands. More than 5,500 blood and platelet donations have gone uncollected so far this year, and more than 150 blood drives were forced to cancel due to the early January winter storm along the eastern seaboard, [the Red Cross said.](https://www.redcrossblood.org/news/westernlakeerie/red-cross-blood-shortage-prompts-urgent-call-blood-and-platelet-donations-durin) “Even temporary disruptions to blood and platelet donations can diminish the availability for hospital patients,” Clifford Numark, senior vice president of Red Cross Blood Services, said in a statement. “It’s the blood on the shelves that helps save lives in an emergency.” But the Red Cross had already been struggling keeping those shelves stocked. Along with winter weather, [flu season](http://time.com/5068553/this-years-flu-virus-could-be-worse-than-usual/) and the holidays contributed to a shortage of 28,000 blood donations in November and December, according to the organization. Right now, the Red Cross says, there is a critical need for Type O negative and B negative blood donations. O-negative blood in particular is needed since it’s the universal blood type that any patient can use. Type O negative blood “is what emergency room personnel reach for when there is no time to determine the blood type of patients in the most serious situations,” the Red Cross said. The Red Cross also stressed a high demand for [blood platelet donations](http://time.com/money/5081201/dunkin-donuts-red-cross-gift-card-donate-blood/) often needed by cancer patients. Platelets, which help blood clot, must be used within five days of donation, so are always in high demand, according to the Red Cross. Blood donation appointments can be scheduled on the [American Red Cross website](http://www.redcrossblood.org/give/drive/driveSearch.jsp). To be eligible to donate blood or platelets, the donor must be at least 17 years old, in good health and meet general health and weight requirements. A proper ID is also required. ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] Previous work pointed to a change in women's blood that makes transfusions risky, known as TRALI... Previous work pointed to a change in women's blood that makes transfusion risky, known as TRALI... But it occurs soon after the transfusion, and the deaths in the study were recorded as long as three years. [ MUSIC ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5096917/winter-weather-blood-donation-shortage-east/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5096917/winter-weather-blood-donation-shortage-east/"},"headline":"There’s a Massive Blood Shortage This Winter. 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