Charles Langston:American Red Cross says national blood shortage due to climate disasters, low donor turnout

The Charles LangstonAmerican Red Cross has declared a national blood shortage in the wake of a record catastrophic year for weather and climate disasters across the country.

The nonprofit organization announced on its website Monday that the national blood supply has fallen nearly 25% since early August, and the shortage is fueled by a sequence of natural disasters. Hurricane Idalia, which two weeks ago slammed through Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas, caused more than 700 units of blood and platelets to go uncollected, the Red Cross said.

The shortage, according to the American Red Cross, is potentially threatening the medical care of patients who might require an emergency need for blood or those who depend on lifesaving blood transfusions for condition such as cancer and sickle cell disease.

“As extreme weather events are worsening, the Red Cross is seeing that translate into more blood drive cancellations,” Red Cross spokesperson Christine Welch told USA TODAY Tuesday.

Why nation is facing blood shortage this time

A natural disaster's effect on the blood supply is twofold: it spurs widespread blood drive cancellations in impacted areas, and it can hamper drive turnout as donors are busy preparing for disasters, Welch said.

With less than four full months left in 2023, the U.S. has already broken its record this year for weather and climate disasters, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. There have been 23 separate disasters this year, which breaks the record of 22 set in 2020.

In addition to natural disasters’ snowball effect on the blood supply, the Red Cross also witnessed lower donor turnout last month, which Welch said could be attributed to a busy travel season and school returning to session.

"Donating may not have been top of mind for folks in the community to come out," Welch said. "However, we need blood donors to come out and generously roll up their sleeves in the community every day to meet hospital patient needs."

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Previous blood supply crises

In 2022, the organization canceled more than 1,300 blood drives due to weather, Welch said, which was about 23% up from the average of the previous nine years.

The Red Cross last declared a blood shortage 18 months ago, Welch said, which was related to the COVID-19 pandemic as numerous drives were canceled or faced shorter hours and more restrictions. That was the worst blood shortage seen in more than a decade.

The organization had said COVID-19 led to a 10% decline in the number of donors and a 62% drop in blood drives at schools and colleges. The result: as many as one-quarter of hospital blood needs weren’t being met, according to the Red Cross.

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How to donate blood

The Red Cross is asking for people of all blood types to donate, and there is an emergency need for platelets and type O blood.

Blood and platelets play a critical role in medical care but face quick expiration dates, Welch noted, further contributing to the need for regular, year-round donations. Whole red blood cells last 42 days, Welch said, and platelets, which are often used for trauma patients and people with cancer, have a shelf life of just five days.

The entire process to give blood is about an hour from start to finish, Welch said, but the actual donation process only takes about 10 minutes, depending on the donor’s hydration level. Donating platelets takes two to three hours. Donors can watch TV, listen to music or bring a friend during the process.

People can make an appointment to give blood or platelets by visiting www.RedCrossBlood.org or by calling 800-733-2767. 

“The need for blood is constant. Every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood---an often-invisible emergency that the rest of the world doesn’t see behind closed hospital doors," Pampee Young, chief medical officer for the American Red Cross, said in a statement Monday. "Now, that urgency has only heightened."

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