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All of a sudden my blood runs thick?

Medical professionals: What if a facility runs out of donated blood?

  • I just got a call to donate blood again this weekend. I always hear how there's a chronic blood shortage in the region (NE USA) but I've never heard of a patient dying because a hospital simply ran out of blood. I know some blood is used to make medicine, so is there really a shortage of blood for transfusions or is it all hype?

  • Answer:

    If you have been called, and it has been 8 WEEKS since your last WHOLE BLOOD donation, or 16 weeks since your last double red cell donation (FDA rule) your donation is needed. It is less time than that if you donated platlets (shelf life = 5 days) or plasma (can be frozen up to a year). Speaking as a volunteer for the Southeast Texas regional blood bank that services over 220 hospitals in a 25 county area, when an individual hospital "runs out of donated blood," they usually turn to the regional blood bank and request more units. If the regional blood bank cannot furnish the requisitioned blood, it will turn to other blood banks for help, provided they have the resources themselves. Right now THERE IS A NATIONWIDE SHORTAGE, especially in O and B type blood ( - & + ). [The regional blood bank http://www.giveblood.org/ shows our CURRENT SUPPLY as slightly over a day's supply for O type (universal for red cells) and B type] My regional blood bank prefers to have a 3-day supply of all types of blood on the shelf. It takes 800 donors a day to meet the requisitions of the hospitals we service. When there is a blood shortage, elective surgeries are the first to be put on the back burner so that blood is available for emergencies. It is not hype. A couple of years ago my center had stats that 60% of the population is eligible to donate blood at any given time; ony 5% of the population actually does. If every eligible donor made a blood donation one time every 3 months, there would be no blood shortages. This recently hit home when my stepmom needed a 2nd transfusion in 2 months. The first transfusion caused antibodies to form in her bloodstream. It took TWO TO THREE days before compatible blood was found. She has O+ blood. Please remember two things: 1) The blood that is rarest is the type that is not on the shelf when needed. 2) Blood is alot like Coca Cola. . .There IS NO substitute for the real thing. NOTE: 1) In my area, blood does not have time "to go bad." There is too much of a demand for it. 2) Only 7% of the population in the USA has O- blood, universal in red cells to all blood types. Check this source for other blood type percentages & countries other than the USA. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_type

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Yes, there is a shortage. Blood can only be stored for so long so people need to continually give. When blood is not available locally it is brought in from surrounding areas. Here in northern Indiana it may need to come from Indianapolis or even from Chicago. If the type is rare and in shortage, or if those facilities don't have what is needed, the search may go to St. Louis or further. Of course the person needing the blood is also waiting and hopefully not dead by this point. People usually donate in masses after catastrophic events like 9/11, but as I said before blood can only be stored for so long. If you are able please continue to give. Thank you...

Sci-student

You would be suprised at how much blood is used in hospitals. I work at a large hospital in the Tulsa are and we generally have quite a few patients each week receiving blood for various things. If we run a shortage we can go to surrounding blood banks and if that presents a problem we can go to surrounding cities. People don't give enough...

splashingdreams

it's not all hype, but you should wait at least 6 weeks before giving blood again... sometimes the blood is shipped to another part of the country

an_articulate_soul

In an emergency, everyone can get O Negative blood assuming there is an adequate supply. But it's best to be typed and cross-matched if they can. Also, you need to remember that blood supplies go bad. They cannot be stored indefinitely. So there is always a need for fresh donor blood. It isn't hype.

kja63

Blood shortages happen all the time and in different seasons of the year. If and when that happened, all elective surgeries would be postponed until it was deemed over.Doctors also encourage patients to donate and bank their own blood,to use for surgery that usually requires a transfusion. Families of severely burned and patients with certain types of cancer that require many blood and platelet transfusions are encouraged to donate.Hospitals can call the Red-cross to arrange emergency blood from another city or state. This is a great forum to remind people to donate blood and help save a life!! No it most definitely NOT hype !! SW RNP

sharon w

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