Topline
The American Red Cross is experiencing its lowest blood donations in 20 years due to a spike in respiratory illnesses, winter weather events and an increase in work from home jobs keeping people in the house—and not donating blood—but experts warn the shortage could mean patients may go without lifesaving procedures.
A blood donation bag sits on an American Red Cross sign.
Key Facts
The American Red Cross declared an “emergency blood shortage” earlier this week, warning the organization is experiencing its lowest levels of blood donations in 20 years as donations have fallen by almost 40%.
The nonprofit supplies around 40% of all the nation’s blood, but it’s struggling to meet demand because only 3% of eligible people donate blood yearly.
A blood donation shortage could mean people are unable to get lifesaving treatments done, like sickle cell patients, who require 100 units of red blood cells per year, or cancer patients, who receive nearly half of all platelet donations, according to Northwestern Medicine.
The Red Cross shortage has already begun impacting the U.S. healthcare system: the Red Cross was short almost 7,000 units of blood between Christmas and New Year’s Day.
As of Tuesday, at least 20 of the 59 community blood centers across the U.S. have “critically low” blood levels with only enough to last a day or less, while 11 are running low with a two-day supply, according to data from nonprofit America’s Blood Centers.
How To Donate Blood To The Red Cross
Potential donors can find a blood drive to schedule an appointment for blood donations. Donors must have either a blood donation card, valid driver’s license or two forms of identification in order to donate, the Red Cross said. People 17 years and up (some states require parental consent for 16-year-olds) and those who weigh at least 110 pounds and are in “generally good health” are eligible to donate in most states. Donors 18 and younger must meet certain height and weight requirements based on the type of donation. The Red Cross recommends eating a nutritious meal and getting a good night’s rest the day before an appointment, drinking 16 ounces of water the day of the appointment and hydrating afterwards.
Crucial Quote
“A person needs lifesaving blood every two seconds in our country—and its availability can be the difference between life and death, however, blood is only available thanks to the generosity of those who roll up a sleeve to donate,” Pampee Young, chief medical officer of the Red Cross, said in a statement.
Big Number
4.4 million. That’s how many blood donations the Red Cross received in 2023, according to data from the company released Monday. It received 1.1 million platelet donations, and 2.4 million volunteers donated blood.
Key Background
The Red Cross warned winter weather and the surge in respiratory illnesses will also put a strain on the nation’s blood supply since donors are more likely to stay at home. The organization blamed the Covid pandemic as a factor that limited blood donations in recent years. Because more people were working from home, it made it difficult to bring blood drives to them. Before the pandemic, changes to donor requirements affected levels. The Food and Drug Administration set a minimum hemoglobin requirement for all male donors in 2016, which the Red Cross said caused increased delays, especially for young donors between 16 and 18. The organization declared another shortage in September 2023, which saw blood supply levels drop by 25%. However, it saw an “increase” in donations in the days following the announcement. The Red Cross faulted the shortage to a busy travel season, back to school activities and “back-to-back months” of persistent climate disasters.
Surprising Fact
One unit of blood is collected during each donation, which is equivalent to one pint. The Red Cross estimates a car crash victim may require at least 100 units of blood.
Tangent
After the FDA updated its blood donation guidelines to eliminate questions on sexual orientation in May 2023, the Red Cross announced more gay men would be able to donate blood in August 2023. Prior to the decision, most gay and bisexual men were unable to donate blood, which stems back to the days when blood couldn’t be screened for HIV, leading to cases of transfusion-transmitted HIV, Penn Medicine reports. This led the FDA to place a lifetime ban in 1985 on men who have sex with men from donating blood, though 20 years later it loosened guidelines to include gay and bisexual men who abstained from sex with men for at least a year. In 2020, the FDA shortened this period to 90 days, though it still restricted many men from donating.
Further Reading
FDA Loosened Requirements To Give Blood Making It Easier For Gay Men To Donate (Forbes)
