The Blood Shortage Situation in the U.S.

The American Red Cross has declared a national blood crisis for the first time in history.

The blood supply in the U.S. had reached its lowest level in over a decade. In fact, many blood centers across the country are left with only a few days’ inventory for certain blood types.

This can lead to severe complications as blood transfusions are critical for many surgeries. They’re also vital in the treatment of diseases, like some cancers.

In this blog, we’ll discuss this shortage in detail and explain how mobile lab service providers in MD can help.

Blood Supply before the Pandemic

Though the pandemic is responsible for escalating the issue, the crisis began even before that.

During the pre-pandemic era, many blood service organizations experienced shortages. Approximately 10 percent of the American population was willing to donate blood before the pandemic hit the states.

Blood has a shelf life of only forty-two days unless frozen, platelets take a week, and white blood cells become perishable within a day. This meant that regular restocking was already becoming a problem.

The Blood Shortage Crisis and the Pandemic

The demand for blood seems to have grown considerably since the start of the pandemic. According to the American Red Cross, there has been a 10% decrease in blood donations since March 2020.

COVID-19 had made blood collection a lot more difficult. Blood centers were unable to stay staffed during the pandemic, with many nurses retiring. Moreover, the public showed a reluctance to come in and donate blood. In fact, there was a 62% decrease in college and high school blood drives because of remote learning.

As a result, hospitals had to modify surgery schedules to ensure they had enough blood at hand. However, many unexpected needs required their attention. For example, those who had to delay medical attention before are now experiencing more chronic diseases. Gun violence also increased during the pandemic as well as car crashes and drug overdoses. Additionally, trauma and burn patients, cardiac surgeries, organ transplants, and other issues also needed blood. Blood shortages impacted medical providers’ ability to deal with all of these issues.

Donate Blood Today

People’s lives are at stake when there are blood shortages. Donating blood is crucial to help patients with cancer treatments, surgeries, traumatic injuries, etc.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration added to their guidelines with updated information regarding blood donations. According to these guidelines, blood donations are safe. According to the FDA, there have been no reported cases of transfusion-transmitted coronavirus.

Many people want to donate blood, but don’t get the time to visit labs due to their busy schedules. That’s where mobile phlebotomy services Baltimore can help.

At Phlebotomy On Wheels, we provide reliable mobile lab services in MD right at your doorstep. We also offer other services, such as routine blood draws, stat draws, pediatric draws, etc.