The Red Cross grapples with staffing limitations amid historic blood supply shortage
The American Red Cross is calling on the community for help as it tackles its first nationwide blood shortage — what it has referred to as a crisis — amid declining donations.
The Red Cross is no exception to the challenges the pandemic has brought forth, with limited blood drives and staffing exacerbating the supply shortage. As a result, the organization has been unable to meet hospital needs, putting doctors in the difficult position of deciding who can wait until there’s more product, said Cari Dighton, regional communications director at the American Red Cross.
“It is the worst shortage that we’ve seen in over a decade,” she said, explaining that shortages are usually normal but this time are historically low.
The Red Cross is responsible for providing 40% of the nation’s blood supply, according to its website. But since March 2020, blood donations have declined by 10%, forcing the organization to limit product distributions to hospitals.
This has left the Red Cross with the inability to meet about one quarter of hospital needs, Dighton said. She added that recently, the organization has had less than a one-day supply of critical blood types and platelets.
In September 2021, the Red Cross declared a blood shortage but was able to build its supply after public appeal. However, as the nation grappled with emerging COVID variants, the organization is now four months into dealing with the shortest supply ever.
All blood types are needed at the moment, but there’s an urgent need for type O positive blood since it’s used the most for transfusions. Blood type O negative and platelets are also in great demand.
One reason for the decline in donations is the lack of participation from college and high school students, who were about a quarter of the donors in 2019, Dighton said. But since the pandemic, there’s been a 62% drop in blood drives that target these individuals, so now only 10% of Red Cross donors are students.
Like many other organizations across the nation, the Red Cross is also experiencing staffing limitations, making it difficult to accommodate the people willing to donate. As of Wednesday, only 26 appointments were available in the Modesto area for the month of January.
“We are working very hard to get more blood drives in the books,” Dighton said, adding that the lack of appointments this month shouldn’t discourage people from donating.
Even if there isn’t an appointment available until a month from now, people should still set up an appointment to donate, she said. She added that the Red Cross could use help from other organizations willing to host blood drives, as well as volunteers to support with blood collections.
For more information on how you can help, to find a blood drive or make an appointment to donate, visit the Red Cross website at www.redcrossblood.org.
The Red Cross’ Modesto donation center is at 1900 W. Orangeburg Ave. Its Turlock center is at 655 E. Hawkeye Ave.
Andrea Briseño is the equity reporter for The Bee's community-funded Economic Mobility Lab, which features a team of reporters covering economic development, education and equity.
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