Mercedes City Manager Alberto Perez is a regular blood donor, and say she’s seen the need for donations firsthand.

"I had a brother that obviously passed due to cancer, and I got used to donating plasma. People need it and when you're in need, you don't have a choice, and we do,” Perez said. “Blood is a gift everybody can afford to give. It only takes a little time."

Representatives from Vitalant Blood Blank say supply has fallen critically low across the nation since the start of the pandemic. It’s no different in the Valley.

"We only get 20% percent of the blood that's donated here in the Valley,” Kassandra Peña — account manager of Vitalant’s McAllen location — said. “Everything else we have to bring in from elsewhere, so we have a critical need here in the Valley for donors and blood in general."

Peña says Vitalant has been working hard to get back the regular donors they had before the pandemic, as well as new ones.

December was a slow month for Vitalant because of the holidays. They’re hoping to make up by getting 1,200 blood donations in January through 54 blood drives happening across the Valley.

So far they’ve received 80 donations.

Watch the video above for the full story.