Amid Severe Blood Shortages, Nearly All of Us Can Offer the Gift of Life

Each year in the U.S., more than 4.5 million lives are saved by blood transfusions, and about 1 in 5 people admitted to the hospital will need blood.

They are people like Jamie Ohl Turner, who organized blood drives when she was a high school student but had no idea that someday she would be the one needing those donations to survive.

A devastating car accident changed that. Throughout her hospital stay, Jamie received 11 blood transfusions, with each one being vital to her survival. “Without those donors — regular people who took a few minutes out of their day to give — I wouldn’t be here today,” she said.

Blood donations are true “lifelines” for countless patients, but the number of donors has dwindled alarmingly. Blood donations to the Red Cross have fallen 40% in the past 20 years.

This month — National Blood Donor Month — the American Red Cross, the Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies, and America’s Blood Centers jointly announced an emergency blood shortage, urging Americans to donate blood or platelets to alleviate the shortage and ensure that lifesaving medical procedures proceed without delay.

Platelet shortages are especially concerning. With a “must use” window of just five days and essential application for cancer patients, accident victims, organ transplantation and other uses, platelet donors are strongly urged help meet the need. 

Harsh winter weather like the current deep freeze locked in over much of the nation also can force the cancellation of blood drives, limit donor access, delay transportation of blood products and interrupt deliveries to hospitals, sometimes for days.

Blood components have a short shelf life, and the blood supply needs to be constantly replenished. Blood can take up to three days to be tested, processed and made available for patients, so it’s the blood already on the shelves that helps save lives in an emergency. In the U.S., more than 16 million units of blood and blood products are transfused annually with more than 45,000 units needed daily.  

One of those people who benefited, according to the Red Cross, was first-time mother Reihaneh Hajibeigi, as childbirth complications caused her to hemorrhage and lose nearly 40% of her blood supply. She recalled that, as she crashed, a team of doctors rushed in to save her life, asking, “Where’s her blood? She needs this blood to save her life.”

“It was about 10 minutes from the time I started to feel faint until they had the blood in my system, and I was basically coming back to life,” Reihaneh said. “I think about the people who made it possible for me to live.”

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.

If you are able, please contact one of the following organizations to find a local blood donation site and to schedule an appointment to donate:

• AABB: www.wheretodonateblood.org
• America’s Blood Centers: www.americasblood.org
• American Red Cross: www.RedCrossBlood.org