"What I have seen is that the misconception comes from people thinking that we are part of the government. So they don't want to donate because of that."

Carolyn Kust, an American Red Cross account manager who oversees blood drives across Oregon, describing why Latino donors, who are more likely than white donors to have Type O blood, the type doctors reach for first in emergencies, have been staying away from donation sites amid fears that giving blood could expose them to immigration enforcement. Kust said Oregon's blood supply is running dangerously thin as a result, noting that the Red Cross typically keeps only about a two-day supply on its shelves and that a single trauma patient can require 50 or more units of blood, while a typical regional blood drive brings in just 30. (OregonLive)