Some Vermont hospitals are beginning to see the downstream effects of this reduction. Nationwide, the Red Cross needed to cancel nearly 500 blood drives, according to a release. The number of Red Cross blood donors has dropped from 3.7 million in 2003 to 2.1 million in 2022, Costa added. In both January 2024 and 2022, the Red Cross experienced critically low blood donation levels, she said. In January 2024, Vermont had to forgo 28 units of blood — this January’s shortage is nearly double that.