Red Cross declares national blood shortage, seeks donors

Hennepin Healthcare also has yet to make any changes to patient care, but Dr. Jed Gorlin said they are “concerned” by the recent shortfall.

“Blood centers like to see at least three to five days of inventory on our refrigerator shelves and we’re down to around two days of inventory,” Gorlin said. “At Hennepin, we are the largest of the three Level One trauma centers in the Twin Cities, so we need to have a fair inventory on the shelves for immediate transfusion. More donors would give me a lot more sleeping comfort because I would like to know we are prepared for any emergency.”