Central California Blood Center warns of critical O-negative shortage
Central California Blood Center says its O-negative supply has dropped below a one-day inventory, putting trauma, NICU and childbirth care at risk across the Valley.
Central California Blood Center says its O-negative supply has dropped below a one-day inventory, a shortage that can ripple immediately through emergency rooms, trauma bays and maternity wards across Fresno County and the Central Valley. Because O-negative can be used when a patient’s blood type is unknown, the center is pressing donors to come in now.
The shortage matters most for premature babies whose blood type has not yet been identified, trauma patients arriving without a known type, and pregnant women who are hemorrhaging during childbirth. The blood center says it supplies patients at more than 20 hospitals and related facilities in Fresno, Tulare, Madera, Kings and Mariposa counties, and it must collect 5,000 to 6,000 pints of blood each month to keep up with demand in the region.
That need is especially urgent because O-negative is one of the most valuable blood products in the system. The center says almost 7% of people have O-negative blood, which makes every donor with that type especially important when inventories run low and hospitals need blood that can be issued without delay.
To reach donors, the Central California Blood Center has five donation centers in Northwest Fresno, Central Fresno, North Fresno, Clovis and Visalia, along with mobile collection units that travel to workplaces and schools throughout the Central Valley. The center says donors can schedule appointments by phone, and the donation process includes registration, a mini-physical and then the blood draw itself, which takes about 15 minutes for a unit of blood.
The warning lands amid broader pressure on the blood supply. The American Red Cross said Jan. 20, 2026, that the national blood supply had fallen about 35% in the previous month, with about 400 blood drives disrupted by winter weather. In March, the American Society of Anesthesiologists said blood banks across the U.S. were reporting dangerously low O-negative supplies and noted that O-negative is the emergency blood type used when a patient’s blood type is unknown.
For Fresno-area hospitals, that makes the current shortage more than a routine appeal. With less than a day of O-negative on hand, the margin for error is thin, and the next emergency surgery, crash injury or complicated delivery could depend on whether enough donors answer quickly.
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