FILE - In this Dec. 20, 2011 file photo, donors give blood at a drive attempting to set a record for most single-day donations in Rutland, Vt. Federal health officials are lifting the nations 32-year-old lifetime ban on blood donations from gay and bisexual men, but major restrictions will continue to limit who can donate.
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Toby Talbot / AP Photo
FILE - In this Dec. 20, 2011 file photo, donors give blood at a drive attempting to set a record for most single-day donations in Rutland, Vt. Federal health officials are lifting the nations 32-year-old lifetime ban on blood donations from gay and bisexual men, but major restrictions will continue to limit who can donate.
This story has been updated with additional information about the worsening shortage.
Central Pennsylvania organizations are urging residents to donate as the country faces a blood shortage.
The American Red Cross said the United States’ blood supply dropped nearly 25% in June, now at less than a 1-day supply of the most critical blood types. For only the second time in the organization’s history, it declared a “national blood crisis.”
Summer often brings increased demand for blood transfusions.
“We’re outside more, we’re vacationing, and so on,” Jay Wimer, director of community relations for the Central Pennsylvania Blood Bank, said. “People bump into things and fall down a lot more than they normally do, and then what we see is an increase in the need for transfusions.”
He said demand for O-positive red blood cells has surged in recent weeks. The blood bank typically distributes about 20 units each day, but since the beginning of July, that number has climbed to roughly 60 units per day.
Blood donations can be split into three parts — red cells, plasma and platelets. Red cells commonly go to transplants and trauma injuries, plasma goes to shock or burn victims, and platelets almost exclusively go to people going through cancer treatments.
Wimer estimated that the entire donation process takes 30 to 45 minutes, including the health screening questions. The blood draw itself usually lasts only about 10 minutes.
Laura Burke, executive director of the American Red Cross of Central Pennsylvania, said there is only a two-day supply of the most critical blood types. Red blood cells have a shelf life of up to 42 days, so hospitals are limited in how long they can store them.
“It puts pressure on the hospitals to make some of those decisions on what blood they’re prioritizing first,” Burke said. “Hospitals have to make those decisions on what is life-sustaining versus what is not life-sustaining. They have to make some of those difficult decisions when the supply is so low.”
The country needs about 13,000 units of blood every day to meet demand, she said. If every scheduled blood drive attracted just three more donors, it would fix the shortage, she said.
“You never know who’s going to need it,” she said. “It could be a loved one, it could be a neighbor, it could go to a friend. Almost everyone will need blood at some point for some reason, so doing your part to replenish that supply is going to go a long way, and it has exponential benefit.”
