Triangle hospitals, agencies warn of potentially dangerous shortage in blood supply
The easing of the coronavirus pandemic is depleting the nation’s blood supply and creating potentially dangerous shortages in the Triangle, according to the leaders of the two agencies that provide blood to area hospitals.
An increase in injuries due to car crashes and other traumas and the backlog of surgical procedures delayed by the pandemic have driven up demand for blood and platelets. At the same time, donations are down, as fewer organizations host blood drives and fewer individual donors come in to blood centers.
“We’re experiencing a blood shortage that can last for several weeks if the community doesn’t take immediate action,” said Delisha English, president and CEO of The Blood Connection. “Despite considerable efforts, we cannot keep pace with the unprecedented need for blood right now.”
At a press conference called to highlight the situation, English said donations at the agency are down 30%. She attributed some of the “unprecedented low donor turnout” to people rediscovering travel and other activities they missed during the last year.
“Blood donation is kind of the last thing on people’s minds right now,” she said.
English was joined by Dr. Osi Udekwu, director of trauma medicine at WakeMed, and Dr. Vincent Smith, the laboratory medical director at UNC Rex hospital, who explained the need for a steady blood supply.
Between 40 and 50 patients receive transfusions of blood or platelets each weekday at Rex, Smith said, most commonly for heart surgeries or cancer treatments, children with sickle cell disease and new mothers who experience bleeding after birth.
“At Rex, we’re seeing a huge bounce back in surgeries that we didn’t see last year,” he said. “At the same time, because of the huge pent-up demand for summer vacations, I think a lot of us forget about the blood supply.”
In other parts of the country, the shortage of whole blood and other blood products has forced hospitals to postpone non-emergency surgeries and other procedures.
“We have not had to do that here,” English said. “We’re really trying our best not to.”
Normal summer slowdown worse this year
Summer is always a challenging time for blood collection agencies. Donors get busy with vacations and other activities, while high schools and colleges that host blood drives other times of year are on break.
But this summer is different. Not only has demand returned, but many businesses are not yet hosting blood drives again because many of their employees are still working from home.
The American Red Cross has been warning of a summer blood shortage for weeks. Nationwide, the agency says, it needs to collect more than 1,000 additional blood donations each day to meet the spike in demand for emergencies, organ transplants and elective surgeries.
“The organization continues to experience a severe blood shortage, and donors of all blood types — especially type O — and people giving platelets are urged to make an appointment to give now,” spokeswoman Cally Edwards said in a written statement.
The Blood Connection and the Red Cross must maintain a steady flow of donations because blood and platelets can’t be frozen or stockpiled. Smith at Rex said the shelf life of whole blood is about a month, while for platelets it’s only three to five days.
And while hospitals can delay non-emergency procedures, they can’t predict when most patients will need blood. Udekwu said WakeMed’s trauma unit treats 4,500 critically injured people a year, and some require dozens of units of blood products.
“Injuries occur unexpectedly,” he said. “We have to keep that supply chain of blood going, so we can be prepared.”
No substitute for human blood
Despite extensive research, Udekwu said, scientists have not been able to develop a suitable substitute for human blood. Barry Porter, the regional CEO for the America Red Cross, said blood is a medicine that can only come from one person to another.
“It’s manufactured in the human body,” Porter said. “We just need those humans to say, ‘I hear you, I’m eligible and healthy. I’m going to go give blood so that patients get the care that they need.’”
Smith said he understands that someone might be hesitant to donate blood for the first time. “None of us like needles,” he said. “Even doctors.”
But he said people of all ages find it easy and painless (you must be 16 or older to donate). He said his 89-year-old father is a regular donor, and he’s trying to persuade his teenage son to try it.
English said The Blood Connection saw good numbers of blood donors last year at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. She says perhaps people had more time to donate blood or wanted to do their part during the national health crisis. She’s hoping more people find that motivation again.
To learn about how and where to donate blood, go to thebloodconnection.org or www.redcrossblood.org.
