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Doctors and patients are facing tough choices because of the national blood crisis

The COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to a 62% drop in blood drives at schools and colleges, according to the American Red Cross.
A phlebotomist tends to a blood donor during the Starts, Stripes, and Pints blood drive event in Louisville, Ky., in July. Rising numbers of organ transplants, trauma cases, and elective surgeries postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic have caused an increase in the need for blood products.

Dozens of hospitals and trauma centers across the country say they're in dire need of blood donations after what the American Red Cross is now calling a nationwide blood crisis.

The Red Cross said in a this week that the dangerously low blood supply levels are posing a concerning risk to patient care,

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