Blood banks seeing shortages of supplies, worst some have seen in decades

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the nation’s blood supply is being impacted with some saying they haven’t seen it this low for decades.

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The American Red Cross said the pandemic has cut the number of healthy blood donors, The New York Times reported.

“This is the biggest challenge that I’ve seen in my 30 years in the business,” Chris Hrouda, president of biomedical services at the American Red Cross, told the Times.

Normally blood donations for the group, which supplies about 40 percent of blood banks, are down in the winter due to holidays, weather, seasonal illness and travel, but this year, Hrouda said the levels are the lowest they’ve been in 10 years and instead of the typical three-day supply the organization has on hand, they can only barely get one day.

Not only is blood in short supply, so are the workers who run the drives.

The American Red Cross, along with America’s Blood Centers and the Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies, released a joint statement earlier this month confirming that blood centers have less than a day’s supply, calling it dangerously low.

The groups warn that “If the nation’s blood supply does not stabilize soon, lifesaving blood may not be available for some patients when it is needed.”

They estimate that 45,000 units are needed each day.

For more information on blood donations, visit the Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies, America’s Blood Centers or the American Red Cross.

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