With the Fourth of July coming up and ongoing challenges to find new blood donors, a spokesman for the American Red Cross in St. Louis says a severe blood shortage exists. 

The agency is again putting out a call for blood donors, as the traditionally low summer blood supply is at what an agency spokesman says is a level that requires them to do so. Joe Zydlo, spokesman for the American Red Cross, says they like to have at least a five-day blood supply on hand for most blood types.

The Red Cross must collect approximately 14,000 blood and platelet donations every day for the patients at about 2,600 hospitals and transfusion centers nationwide. You can find a list of blood drives at ww.redcrossblood.org