Red Cross Calls National Blood Shortage 'A Disaster'

In the wake of a hurricane, earthquake, or other natural disaster, the last thing that victims should have to deal with is a national blood shortage. But with the majority of the American Red Cross Blood Services regions operating with less than one day's supply of blood, the potential for catastrophe is slowly climbing.

Likening the current blood shortage to other national emergencies, Red Cross President and CEO Dr. Bernadine Healy urged eligible donors this week to do their part. "A blood shortage is a disaster, and we need the same level of public support for this disaster as we do for a hurricane, tornado, flood or fire," she said. "Patients who need blood in emergency situations absolutely depend on a readily available supply. No patient should ever be left to wonder if the lifesaving blood they need will be available to them."

Every day, cancer patients, people with hemophilia and others who need regular blood transfusions rely on a readily available supply of blood, Healy said. These patients need blood to help save or enhance their lives and need volunteer blood donors to give that gift of life throughout the year and especially now to combat the current blood shortage.

Perhaps even more alarming than the nationwide shortage itself are its potential ramifications during a major crisis: a lack of blood in the face of any natural disaster-such as an earthquake or hurricane-could prove catastrophic. According to Josie Murphy of Red Cross Blood Services, Northern California Region, natural disasters inevitably lead to blood shortages in the area where the disaster takes place.

"The minute you start seeing nature wreak havoc on your territory, the ability to collect blood is almost reduced to zero," said Murphy. In the Bay Area, where Murphy is located, this point is driven home by the most unpredictable of natural disasters: earthquakes.

Murphy said that the Northern California division of Red Cross Blood Services is currently dealing with "a less than three-day supply of blood." If an earthquake were to hit Northern California right now, she said, that supply would diminish and there would be no ability to continue blood collection while the community struggled to recuperate from the disaster. After an earthquake, Murphy explained, freeways and major arteries are often shut down, preventing even Red Cross blood collection staff from getting to work and setting up a collection center. In addition, she said, it takes days for public officials to even declare buildings in the area safe for a blood drive.

Without an adequate supply of blood in other parts of the country, recovery from natural disasters becomes even more challenging. "Every one of [the Red Cross blood service regions] has to be fully operational" for a well-executed disaster relief effort, Murphy said. While the Red Cross has a national system that allows it to move blood from one area of the country to another where there is an immediate need, the current shortage is pushing the system to its limits.

Hospitals in major metropolitan areas such as Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Baltimore, Los Angeles and Detroit have been especially hard hit by the shortage of blood this summer. Without a readily available supply of blood, surgical procedures, organ transplants and even more routine medical procedures become more dangerous.

During nonsummer months, approximately 15 percent of Red Cross blood donations come from high school and college students, most of whom are on break during the summer. In addition, more people leaving town for summer vacations leads to more car accidents, another drain on the national blood supply. But this year the national blood supply has reached a critically low level. While the Red Cross has seen an overall increase in collections, higher demand from hospitals has contributed to the summer blood shortage. Compared to 1999, the Red Cross's blood distribution to hospitals this year was up by 5.8 percent in April and 6.1 percent in May.

"There are a lot of new medical advances for treating diseases, like cancer, which predictably require more blood products," said Dr. Donald Siegel, Director of the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center's blood bank. "Surgical techniques have gotten better over the years, but more advanced procedures, like autologous bone marrow transplants, require a lot of blood transfusion support while the patients are recovering from their chemotherapy. The increase in organ transplants-liver, pancreas, heart, kidney, lung-also puts a strain on blood supplies."

On top of the increased usage of banked blood for medical treatments is the growing public misperception that there is enough blood to go around. According to a public opinion survey conducted by the American Red Cross this spring, an overwhelming majority of Americans (76 percent) expect that blood will be available to them when they need it. That same poll showed that most Americans (72 percent) also underestimate the existing demand for blood. And despite the fact that giving blood is safe and easy, only about 5 percent of eligible Americans donate blood.

The nation's hospitals are beginning to feel the pinch. Dr. Karen King, associate medical director for transfusion medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore said that this is one of the worst shortages she remembers.

"Every day, we cross our fingers and hope that our big bleeders aren't B's or O's," she said, referring to the fact that the shortage is most threatening for patients with types B or O blood, which are in the shortest supply. "It's truly one day at a time."

At Johns Hopkins, Dr. King said, the shortage has even affected the ability to schedule surgeries. Much of the hospital's blood supply is used to treat cancer patients "who we absolutely have to accommodate," she said.

"I realize that this is not just a Baltimore issue we're dealing with," said Dr. King, agreeing with Dr. Healy that the nationwide blood shortage is a potentially disastrous situation. "The blood supply is unusually low all over, and at this point there's no wiggle room."

The Red Cross needs a steady flow of blood donors over the coming weeks to ensure a stable supply throughout the summer. Please call 1-800 GIVE-LIFE today to schedule an appointment to donate blood in the next few weeks. To be a blood donor, you must be at least 17 years old, weigh 110 or more pounds and be in good health. Donors can give blood as often as once every 56 days.