The American Red Cross is experiencing an emergency blood and platelet shortage as collection events are cancelled or postponed due to the pandemic and flu season looms on the horizon.
The national Red Cross blood inventory is the lowest it’s been post-summer in years, with less than a day’s supply of certain blood types in recent weeks.
Per a press release, the supply of types O positive and O negative blood – the blood types most in demand by hospitals – dropped to less than a half-day supply over the last month. Ideally, the nonprofit aims to maintain a five-day supply.
“This is the lowest the inventory for blood, for hospitals across the nation, has been since the same time in 2015,” said Barry Porter, the Regional Chief Executive Officer of the American Red Cross of Eastern North Carolina. “So, it’s been at least six years since we saw this kind of impact with low donor turnout being the driver while blood needs of hospital patients remain pretty constant.”
Porter said high school and university-age donors make up 22 percent of the blood donation supply; however, that supply has been heavily disrupted over the past year and a half, first with school shutdowns and then with a tumultuous return to the classroom.
A recent surge in COVID-19 cases has also delayed or discouraged many people from giving. Porter said as cases spiked from the Delta variant in August, blood donor participation decreased about 10 percent.
“The American Red Cross attempts each and every day to collect about 12,500 donations,” he said. “Just think 12,500 people have to roll up their sleeves every day with the Red Cross and with other blood organizations. So, we’re trying to meet hospital needs or patient needs – individuals. You know, the cross doesn’t need the blood. The hospital doesn’t need the blood. The end result is a patient needs it.”
While the need for blood is consistent year-round, with an American receiving a blood product transfusion every two seconds, Porter said the winter months always present more challenges with fewer people eligible to donate.
“Getting to the next phase of the winter season, we know people become less eligible because more people will also be infected or impacted by flu and continuing exposure to COVID,” said Porter. “So, that delays people’s ability to give because you have to be feeling well, in good health, and symptom free from other illnesses to be an eligible blood donor.”
The Red Cross is encouraging eligible North Carolinians to donate or even host their own blood drive. To meet the current demand, Porter said the nonprofit needs 10,000 additional donors to show up every week for the next four weeks – that’s 40,000 more people ready to roll up their sleeves.
“The important part is, you’re effectively touching the life of another because a unit of blood can only come from one person to another,” said Porter. “It’s sort of an arm to arm opportunity to help save a life.”
Click here to make an appointment to give blood or platelets at a drive near you.
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