There’s a shortage in New York City’s blood bank.
Since the start of the pandemic in March 2020 the city’s supply of blood has a number of times fallen to some of the lowest levels ever. In early June the blood bank was down to just a three-day supply overall and just one day’s worth of the most commonly needed types -- O and O positive. The ideal supply is five to seven days.
All this because hundreds of blood drives at schools and colleges have been canceled during the pandemic. Those drives normally contribute about a quarter of the bank’s supply.
And the 200 hospitals that get blood from the bank are now performing all the operations and procedures that had been put off.