The extreme heat affecting much of the country and summer vacation season are contributing to low blood donor turnout during “trauma season” when injuries from outdoor activities can increase, according to Vitalant, a nonprofit that hosts blood drives in the Yampa Valley.

Vitalant Communications Manager Brooke Way said blood donations during the Fourth of July holiday week plummeted about 30% from weekly averages, resulting in about 760 units uncollected in Colorado.

That shortfall is on top of about 8,000 fewer donations than needed nationwide in June.

“Additionally, the number of people donating with Vitalant has not rebounded from a 20% drop since 2019,” Way said. “Among the causes, workplace blood drives have been slow to come back since the pandemic with people working remotely, and personal routines have shifted.”

Blood donors are critical to overcoming the shortage, so Vitalant is offering a $10 gift card for donors and a chance to win a $10,000 grocery giveaway.

“Vitalant urges all eligible blood donors to make an appointment to give now for the coming days and weeks to boost the blood supply for patients in need,” Way noted.

That includes an emergency shortage of type O blood, which is the most transfused blood type. O-negative blood can be used to help any patient, and O-positive can help any patient with A-positive, B-positive, AB-positive or O-positive blood. Donors of all other blood types and platelet donations also are urgently needed, Way said.

Upcoming blood drives in Steamboat Springs are set for 12:30-6 p.m. Aug. 7 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1155 Central Park Drive, and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Aug. 8 at Colorado Mountain College auditorium, 1275 Crawford Ave.

Blood drives in Craig are planned for 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Sept. 11 at the Pavilion Building at Moffat County Fairgrounds, 640 E. Victory Way, as well as 12:30-6 p.m. Nov. 12 at the same location.

Donors can sign up at Donors.Vitalant.org.

Blood donors help ensure patients, such as northern Routt County resident Chelsea Romig, maintain the energy needed to stay active, according to Way. An avid hiker, Romig went to the doctor when she experienced fatigue and difficulty breathing.

Through several months, she received eight units of blood and was diagnosed with blood-related diseases, including hemolytic anemia, which destroys red blood cells in the body faster than the body can produce. Blood transfusions are a continued part of her treatment.

“Blood has given me my life back,” Romig said. “It’s something I didn’t necessarily appreciate until now. I couldn’t hike last year and thought I might never be able to do it again.”

Learn more at Vitalant.org or call 877-25-VITAL.