There's a national blood emergency and American Red Cross desperately needs donors to help save lives. They're reaching out to Sparkt for help.

For some background: the blood shortage was caused by the typical drop in donations over the holidays, coupled with bad weather in some areas that's kept people from getting out to give.

"Many people may not realize that blood products are perishable," meaning they can expire and have to be regularly replenished, said Cliff Numark, senior vice president, Red Cross Biomedical Services in a press release sent to Sparkt.

"The only source of lifesaving blood for patients is volunteer blood donors." Cliff Numark, senior vice president, Red Cross Biomedical Services

Red Cross says they currently have a three-day supply of most blood products, which is considered near critical levels. Any further drop in the supply could lead to delays in non-urgent medical procedures, like elective surgeries.

The Red Cross has lots of drop-in blood drives scheduled all across the area in the coming weeks. Click here and plug in your zip code to find the one nearest you.

Central Blood Bank of Pittsburgh (now known as Vitalant ) also has a need for donations and also has community blood drives scheduled. Click here for dates, locations and times or to schedule an appointment to donate at one of their area donor centers.

Note: the new Vitalant website is hard to navigate, so when you click on this link , a grid of locations will pop up. Click on a location and hit "select" to bring up available appointments, or scroll down to put in your address to find a donation center or blood drive near you. You can also make an appointment through their national toll-free line 877-827-4376.

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