Big Sky Times

Vitalent, a nonprofit firm that collects blood from volunteer donors, announced this week it is falling short of its personal goal of having four days of each blood type on hand.

Vitalent, which also supplies blood products and services nationwide, said there is a critical need for blood donations, including Type O, according to Montanarightnow.com.

“Vitalent strives to have four days on hand of each blood type and we are currently not at that,” Vitalent employee Tori Robbins told Montanarightnow.com.

According to the report, the blood collection company noted that the weeks during the winter holidays are the slowest for donations.

Robbins also told the website that a number of blood and platelet donations appointments typically go unfilled at this time of year.

“If not enough blood is donated, doctors my face the impossible choice of who gets blood and who must wait,” she told the website.

Estaleda Webb shared with the website the story of of her son , Matt, who is five years old and battling B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, which can require frequent blood transfusions. She told the news outlet he needed blood just before the holidays.

"So, his blood levels started to drastically drop,” she told Montanarightnow.com. “He had nothing being produced. So, when we took him into Billings Clinic, they had informed us it might take a while to get some blood because there is such a shortage. And it did take a long time to get blood.”

Incidents like the one the Webb family encountered can happen more often if the blood supply doesn’t receive an infusion of donations.

“The cancer moms of Billings have arranged a blood drive in January to try to get more blood because we're all experiencing a shortage of blood right now,” Webb told Montanarightnow.com. “And it's terrifying."

For information or to participate in a virtual blood drive, visit the Vitalant Facebook page. The company pointed out that the entire blood donation process, from registration, screening interview, the donation and a 15-minute period of rest afterward, takes no more than an hour.