An emergency blood shortage has prompted the American Red Cross to make an appeal to all eligible donors: Please come in, roll up your sleeves, and give a little. On Sunday, the humanitarian aid group announced it's seeing the lowest number of US blood donors in two decades, and it's now imploring those who can donate to come in and do so. The Red Cross notes that it's seen a 40% drop in donations over the last 20 years, and that hospitals are simply making more requests for blood, platelets, and plasma than the Red Cross has available, per ABC News.
For context, the Red Cross' Dr. Eric Gehrie, a medical director with the organization, says that the Red Cross would need to see an extra 8,000 donations per week through the rest of the month to satisfy all requests from hospitals nationwide. The Red Cross notes that "several factors" have led to donor defections in recent years, but COVID hit donations especially hard. Remote work meant that companies and schools didn't hold as many on-site blood drives, for example. "The pandemic has really taken a toll on our blood donations," Christine Foran of the New York Blood Center, tells USA Today. "Society has changed."
If the blood supply isn't adequately replenished, patients may see delayed transfusions and postponed surgeries, as well as more of a challenge to find matching donors if they have rare blood types. "One of the most distressing situations for a doctor is to have a hospital full of patients and an empty refrigerator without any blood products," says Dr. Pampee Young, the Red Cross' chief medical officer. To sweeten the donation pot a bit, the organization is offering a chance to win a trip to Super Bowl LVII in Las Vegas on Feb. 11. Those interested simply need to donate anytime in January to be entered in a drawing for a free roundtrip flight for two, accommodations, and tickets to the big game, as well as a $1,000 gift card. (More Red Cross stories.)
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