Serious blood shortage — donors needed

During January — National Blood Donor Month — the American Red Cross, which supplies 40% of the nation’s supply, is calling on newcomers and stalwarts to give blood and become repeat donors at a time when the country’s blood bank is hitting an historic, critical low.

Jennifer Costa, communications director for the Northern New England Chapter of the American Red Cross, said the 10% drop in donations nationwide since the start of the pandemic is ongoing, and it’s unknown when supplies will rebound. In recent weeks, the Red Cross has had less than a one-day supply of critical blood types, which has limited distribution to hospitals.  At times, as much as 25% of hospital needs are unmet, according to the Red Cross.

This affects the availability of whole blood and platelets used in emergency room visits, cancer care, surgeries, transfusions and other procedures, and the shortage is echoed in New Hampshire. The pandemic has contributed to a 62% drop in blood drives at schools and colleges, according to the Red Cross.

“It’s the worse shortage we’ve seen in a decade,” said Costa. “What makes it worse is the prolonged nature.” Fall is typically a time when blood supplies are replenished, she said, but that didn’t happen in 2021.

Health care providers everywhere are feeling the pinch.

“This morning, there was a point in time when we had no platelets available, which help clotting,” said Lauren Collins-Cline, spokesperson for Catholic Medical Center in Manchester. Since December, blood shortages have caused CMC to reschedule several procedures, she said.

On one day recently, the nation’s blood supply fell by two-thirds, from 15,000 units, which is typical, down to 5,000 units, said Collins-Cline. For any health care facility, the amount of blood on hand daily is determinedby donations and demand as well as the availability of staff to draw blood.

Collins-Cline said her own appointment to donate at a Red Cross blood draw in late December was canceled because of lack of staff.

Manpower shortages, which are ravaging many areas of health care, are diminishing the blood that can be collected. “The ripple effect is tremendous,” she said.

Concord Hospital's facilities in Laconia and Franklin, like hospitals across the country, are experiencing blood supply shortages, said Matthew Johnson, the health care system’s communications director. But he said they haven’t yet affected patient access to care.  

If the dearth continues, however, physicians may have to decide which patients need transfusions the most, said Costa. Low blood supplies jeopardize people with kidney disease, blood disorders and anemia as well as the timing of surgeries and procedures. Especially needed now is type O, the most common blood type, which can be utilized by everyone. However, people with type O can only receive type O.

Huggins Hospital, like many others, is witnessing a blood shortage compared to what it typically has on hand. But so far it hasn’t compromised services, said the Wolfeboro hospital’s communications director Monika O’Clair.

“It’s hard to imagine what a blood shortage does to your community if you haven’t experienced a shortage in a crisis,” O’Clair said. “If we continue at this low level, someone might not get the blood they need in a critical life-saving situation.” Even in non-pandemic times, turnout at blood drives is unpredictable, she said.

Roughly 165 pints of whole blood are needed daily to meet patient demand in New Hampshire, according to the Red Cross.

“That means 1,100 Granite Staters need to roll up a sleeve every week,” said Costa. 

Health care workers believe the pandemic and worries about contagion risk have dampened turnout, including during summer and winter, when donations typically decline for reasons ranging from transportation to weather, vacations and inertia. Contrary to public fears, giving blood is safe, even with COVID variants delta and omicron in the community, because hospitals, labs and blood drives follow strict hygiene and social distancing protocols, with individual appointments booked to avoid sitting and waiting and masks worn by donors and gloved staff, Costa said.

“We can move the blood where it needs to go,” said Costa, though most donations stay locally to help area residents.

So far donor response to the Red Cross’s current appeal has been encouraging, she said.

Costa hopes newcomers will turn into regulars. “If we can get people in the habit, we’ll have a stable pipeline of blood coming in that patients can rely on,” she said. The shelf life of donated blood is 42 days, while platelets last five, she said.

“Most people don’t wonder if if the blood will be there if they have a cancer operation or open-heart surgery. If people aren’t donating, it’s just not there to save lives,” she said.

Go to redcrossblood.org to book a blood draw appointment. Type in your zip code to find the nearest location. The Red Cross asks donors to make an appointment four to six weeks out.