WASHINGTON- The continual winter storms is impacting patients in need of blood donations. The American Red Cross is saying it is in a critical supply shortage that is caused in part by snow and residual ice shutting down mobile blood drives.
“The American Red Cross cancelled over 80 blood drives locally that we couldn’t collect blood at,” says Angel Montes, the Red Cross’ Northwest Regional Executive for Donor Services. “Out of that, we have several thousand units were not able to be collected that were planned for.”
Montes says the Red Cross is 7,000 units of blood short of their target. With the drives being cancelled, patients are at risk of procedures being delayed or cancelled.
“We are now at a point that we’re not able to get the blood products to the hospitals as fast as they’re asking for them,” says Red Cross Communications Manager Abby Walker.
Both Montes and Walker say they don’t know of any deaths that have occurred because of the blood shortage, but the shortage is a nationwide issue.
The Red Cross says the drop-off in donors is not a new thing to the organization. Walker says donor numbers are at a 20-year low and ARC expected lower numbers during the winter season.
“Winter tends to be a difficult time to collect blood because of the holidays, but we saw just a decrease in the amount of people who were actually coming out to give blood,” says Walker.
Montes projects getting enough blood for patients to use could take weeks or months to accomplish. Until then, hospitals and medical centers are tasked with distributing what supply they have to patients in the most need.
“It puts hospitals and medical care givers in a really tough position to have to maybe start deciding which patients to give blood to,” says Walker. “That’s not a situation that we want them to be in. That’s not a situation that’s easy on anyone.”
The Red Cross does have blood donation centers that are open regardless of weather and are taking donors whenever possible. It has locations in Yakima, Walla Walla and Kennewick with addresses and contact information on its website.
