CLEVELAND — The national blood shortage is becoming an increasingly bigger problem thanks to the omicron variant of COVID-19.
The American Red Cross has declared its first-ever national blood crisis, the worst they’ve seen in years. Now, they’re calling on the community to donate blood to replenish supplies and provide for those who need blood products.
“We are facing the worst blood shortage in more than a decade,” said Christy Peters, regional communications manager for American Red Cross in northern Ohio.
The Red Cross is not alone. Vitalant, a nonprofit organization formerly known as LifeShare, is experiencing its lowest overall supply of blood in more than two years.
The nonprofit says that the shortage is most severe for type O blood, but all types of blood are needed.
According to the Red Cross, there has been a 10 percent decline in the number of people that are donating blood since the COVID-19 pandemic began back in 2020.
Peters with the Red Cross said a combination of factors has led to the nationwide blood shortage.
“Unfortunately we just have not seen as many people coming forward to give, and there have been several other factors, and all of those factors have led to this situation,” Peters said, “including the pandemic, severe winter weather, staffing and supply chain issues, many of the things that are affecting businesses across the country. But unfortunately, it’s affecting patients in hospitals who are depending on blood products.”
Between a lack of donors and a lack of blood drives and sponsors due to the pandemic, the blood supply has dropped drastically.
“We used to run a lot of blood drives at high schools and colleges,” she said. “Now that that has changed because of the pandemic, we’re not seeing as many drives on campuses, and that’s approximately twenty percent of what the Red Cross collects. That’s had an impact on us as well.”
Peters said there are times in the year when blood donations typically tend to dip, like summer, when people are often on vacation and not necessarily donating, and winter, when people are often busy with the holidays.
However, because of the pandemic, Peters said they haven’t been able to bounce back to normal numbers. Typically, Peters said the Red Cross likes to have a five day supply of all blood types on hand. Right now, the organization is not meeting those levels.
The shortage is being felt by hospitals nationwide, including right here in Northeast Ohio. Dr. Christine Schmotzer, vice chair of system pathology operations at University Hospitals said they’ve been hearing about the shortage from many different blood suppliers.
“We have a large number of patients that need blood products to maintain their care or to provide care for an acute issue,” said Dr. Schmotzer.
Dr. Schmotzer said that can range from trauma patients, such as people involved in a car crash who need blood, to people with blood disorders who need blood on an ongoing basis for treatment.
“We have to look at who we’re treating, how we’re treating them, and manage to maximize the care that we can with the blood products that are available,” she said. “When we start to get short on red blood cells or platelets, or other blood products, we really need to thoughtfully manage this and move to some different strategies to make sure we can support and care for as many patients as we can in our system.”
Dr. Schmotzer said there is a call to action to the community to donate blood to ensure that the supply is there.
“The supply at UH as well as what is being seen across the country is being challenged,” she said. “We are still able to provide the blood products to those critical patients who need it, but we have started to take some steps to manage these and communicate with our physicians and caregivers who are taking [care] of these patients to make thoughtful decisions in the moments to again, maximize being able to treat as many patients as we can with the blood we have available.”
Andrea Sitler, a dental hygienist, donated blood on Tuesday at a Red Cross event in downtown Cleveland. She said giving blood is just the right thing to do.
“You should come out and donate because there might be a time when you need the help, or your family member needs the help, and that supply is going to be there for them,” she said.
Kevin Roberts has been donating blood for about 30 years. He said it’s an easy way to help save lives.
“During this pandemic, we have dual concerns,” he said. “People that donate blood might not be able to due to the risks for COVID, and those people who are hospitalized might have an elevated need for it, more than normal. Both are good reasons.
All eligible donors are urged to donate as soon as possible. According to Vitalant, roughly 3 percent of the population donates blood, despite the majority of people being eligible to do so.
Peters said if you can't donate blood, they also need volunteers, as well as businesses and people who are able to offer space to host blood drives.
With January being National Blood Donor Month, those who donate with Vitalant will be entered into a drawing for a $5,000 prepaid gift card as part of the Big Game Giveaway. Donors with the Red Cross have the chance to win Superbowl tickets.
CLICK HERE to schedule an appointment to donate blood through Vitalant. The site also has its criteria for being eligible to donate blood listed.
CLICK HERE to schedule an appointment to donate blood through the Red Cross.
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Editor's note: Video in the player above was originally published in an unrelated story on Jan. 11, 2022.
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