NJ has a 3-day blood supply. To boost supplies, centers offer incentives to donors

A call for fresh blood rang through New Jersey on Tuesday, World Blood Donor Day.

Though improved from the critical shortage status it had in early 2022, the state's blood supply needs stability, said Diane Concannon, American Red Cross New Jersey’s regional communications director.

Elective surgeries are back from a pandemic-linked low, but rates of new and habitual donations are not keeping pace, said Sharon Zetts, the manager of volunteer services and donor relations associates at New Jersey Blood Services, a division of New York Blood Center.

"We had announced an emergency in May because the drop in donations was really alarming," Zetts said. "We didn't really get the bump that we usually do."

There is currently "about a three-day blood supply. We'd really like to be at a five- to seven-day supply," Zetts said.

Officials at Vitalant, a nonprofit blood services provider with donor centers in Lincoln Park, Montvale, Paramus and Parsippany Troy-Hills, said the number of new donors in its 28-state network is down 12% year over year. Blood type O supplies are dipping, and rapidly deteriorating platelets are in high demand.

Cliff Numark, Vitalant's senior vice president, said people selflessly rush to donate after high-profile emergencies. However, there remains a steady need for transfusions, "which don't grab news headlines."

"Certainly, it's the blood already on the shelves that helps patients when tragedy strikes," he said. "But an adequate supply also has to be ready to provide for the individual needs of patients that arise every day: the cancer treatment, the accident victim, the transplant patient."

In April and May 2022, Vitalant centers and drives collected roughly 13,000 fewer blood donations than they did in April and May 2021. The outlook for the rest of spring and early summer is not promising, Concannon said.

"People are busier. They go away on vacation, and schools are shut down in the summer," she said. "We host a lot of our blood drives at high schools."

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Blood donations will last 42 days on the shelf. Yet American Red Cross donors are allowed to give blood only every 56 days, and most donors give only once or twice a year, Zetts said.

Whole blood, unlike the plasma within it, cannot be frozen to preserve its useful lifespan, Concannon said.

"The blood needs to be on the shelves," Concannon said. "That's why we're asking people now to please consider donating blood to keep that supply at an even level."

Zetts and Concannon said their groups are now back in schools but are still attempting to rebuild corporate blood drives lost when workers vacated office spaces during pandemic-related lockdowns.

"We're seeing some of those come back," she said. "But most companies are still dealing with the reality of people working remotely."

Incentives offered to blood donors

To boost supplies heading into summer, donor service groups offer incentives. A New York Blood Center promotion set for later this month will give donors two New York Mets ticket vouchers, Zetts said. Through June 30, donors at Red Cross drives will get $5 gift cards and a chance to win a trip to Memphis, a tour of Graceland for two and other Elvis Presley-related prizes.

Numark and others at Vitalant are also promoting the personal benefits of blood donation. New donors can learn their preliminary blood type when they give blood. Most area also offered a brief physical assessment and a full panel of blood tests that provide hemoglobin and cholesterol counts. The Red Cross now promotes sickle cell trait screening as part of its donor services.

A variety of area blood donation locations can be found on the Vitalant, New York Blood Center and American Red Cross websites. Those websites also provide first-time donor information to help ease the process.

Donors in New Jersey must be at least 17, or 16 with parental consent, at least 110 pounds and in generally good health, according to state Department of Health regulations.

To donate blood, visit the Red Cross website for details.

David Zimmer is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: zimmer@northjersey.com

Twitter: @dzimmernews 

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: World Blood Donor Day: NJ has only a 3-day blood supply