America's blood supply crisis Lack of donation suffocates hospitals Kristen Rummel
J
rummekri000@hsestudents.org
ust under 80% of hospital beds are in use around the United States according to the U.S. Department of Human Health and Services. With understaffed hospitals, rising hospitalization rates and COVID-19 patients overwhelming hospitals, now they’re facing a different problem: the national blood shortage. The Red Cross announced a national blood shortage in late January, stating an overall decrease in blood donation by 10% since March 2020. This significant decrease in donation has been a result of COVID-19 protocols restricting blood drives in fear of further spreading the virus. These COVID-19 protection protocols and cancellations have especially affected school blood drives, of which students make up 25% of national donors. Student blood drives have declined 62% since March 2019. Since the lack of donations, blood distribution has to be rationed out between hospitals and many are not getting the critical blood they need. Blood cannot be artificially produced or stockpiled, so continuous donation is a must. Blood needs to be tested, refrigerated and then transported for use, but with hurdles like labor shortages, this process can take longer than expected, putting a bottleneck on the blood's expiration date. The shelf-life of blood depends on the condition, type and method of storage. Generally, if blood is refrigerated, it cannot be used after 42 days.
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“COVID-19 and the blood shortage together caused somewhat of a vicious cycle,” Jennifer Faulkner, registered nurse at Community Surgery Center said. “Hospitals rely on blood products for all age ranges and medical problems as an ongoing therapy or as life-saving measure. Outcomes would severely drop without blood donors of all blood types.” All blood types are needed in this crisis, but there are a few blood types needed the most: Type O negative, Type O positive, and platelets, with Type O negative being one of the most important. It is the universal blood type and what emergency room personnel reach for when there is no time to determine the blood type of patients in the most serious situations. “People were not seeking medical attention when they normally would have because of fear of the virus,” Faulkner said. “As a result, hospitals were seeing patients when they were much more critically ill. With earlier intervention, some of these patients could have avoided the need for blood.” One donation can help three others in need of blood. Recovery from blood donation depends on how much and what you donate. When Plasma is donated, it is replaced within 24 hours and red blood cells take four to six weeks to replenish. According to the Red Cross, people should only donate blood after eight weeks of recovery. According to the Community Blood center, only 37% of Americans can donate blood, but less than 10% do it annually. “Many of my friends and
family have needed blood in the past,” FHS blood drive coordinator Tammy Snyder said. “My mother required many bags of blood in her fight against cancer. This is something that almost everybody can do to help another person, so I want to raise awareness and grow a new group of lifelong donors every year.” The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration have also issued statements encouraging blood donation for those who are well. Donation facilities should be following strict guidelines to stop viral infections. “There are always going to be issues within your community or city that you feel like you can’t help in,” senior Sreya Myneni said. “But donating blood is a sample way to beneficially impact someone. Even though we don’t end up meeting who receives our blood, it was used to treat someone and potentially even save a life. It is very special to be able to impact someone's life to that extent.”
For more information about blood donation and helpful tips, visit the QR webpage above.
Information from Versiti Blood Centers. Graphic by Kristen Rummel.
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