Blood donors sought amid nationwide shortage
The pandemic has created a “perfect storm” of conditions for a large drop in blood donations over the past two years.
Vitalant is a nonprofit that provides donor blood to hospital systems nationwide, including Washington Health System Washington Hospital, UPMC and Allegheny Health Network.
Kristen Lane, Vitalant’s communications manager, said donations in Western Pennsylvania in the past decade have been low, and they fill the gap with blood from sister blood banks out of state.
However, Vitalant is currently experiencing a “historic, two-year low blood supply,” according to a press release.
Vitalant fell 4,500 donations short of what was needed in December, and the organization says that trend is continuing this month.
According to Lane, a large portion of donations came from community blood drives. Schools moving to remote learning during the pandemic proved particularly challenging.
“We lost anywhere from 20 to 30% of our donors,” Lane said.
The work shortage has also caused staffing issues.
“We have in many cases needed to cancel drives,” Lane said.
Those issues are made worse by donations historically being lower in the winter due to the flu and bad weather, according to Lane.
“It’s the perfect storm for a decline in blood donors,” Lane said.
According to Lane, low blood supply could lead to hospitals postponing elective surgeries.
“We always need to have blood on hand for emergencies,” Lane said.
As an incentive for people to donate, anyone who donates blood with Vitalant this month will be entered to win one of four $5,000 gift cards.
“It’s important for people to remember that they can give blood immediately after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine if you’re healthy and well,” said Vitalant Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ralph Vassallo in the press release. “To ensure patient care isn’t jeopardized, we need people to schedule an appointment today. Even if the appointment is several weeks from now, setting and keeping it will help replenish what’s needed for both routine treatments and emergencies.”
Appointments can be made at vitalant.org. They have 10 locations in Western Pennsylvania.