Although it’s the time of year when accidents involving blood loss typically spike, summer is also when supplies of donated blood products are generally at their lowest.
Miller-Keystone Blood Center, which serves the Lehigh Valley area, is currently facing that irony due to what it described Thursday as a “critical” need for blood donors.
“We currently have less than a one-day supply of blood products on our shelves, which means that one accident or trauma could deplete our entire inventory,” said Miller-Keystone’s Director of Communications Marie Clemens, in a news release. “Our hospitals need blood products every day to treat accident and burn victims, cancer patients, premature infants, surgical patients and many others right here in our community. We need all available blood donors to take an hour, roll up their sleeves and help our community by donating their lifesaving blood.”
Miller-Keystone currently supplies 35 hospitals throughout the region with blood and blood products, Clemens said.
“Our goal is to have at least a three-day supply of blood products available for our community hospitals, which would equate to approximately 1,200 units of blood,” said Miller-Keystone Chief Operating Officer Rami Nemeh. However, he said that as of Thursday afternoon the blood bank had only 411 available units on its shelves.
Nemeh said the already-dire situation is being compounded by Miller-Keystone’s inability to import blood products from other donation centers due to a nationwide shortage that began during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“During the pandemic, school and business closures and remote work lead to a steady decline in blood donations and the hosting of blood drives,” he said, noting that after businesspeople returned to their offices and students re-entered classrooms, the number of businesses and educational institutions hosting blood drives remained low.
“These factors, combined with an expected summer decline due to school hiatuses, family vacations and increased travel, have forced the Blood Center to issue a critical appeal for donors,” the release said.
In order to donate blood, individuals must be 16 years of age or older (parental consent is required for 16-year-old donors), weigh a minimum of 110 pounds and be feeling healthy. They must not have donated blood in the past eight weeks, however platelet donors are eligible within eight days of a donation. All donors must also provide valid identification.
To schedule a blood donation appointment, call 1-800-B-A-DONOR (223-6667) or visit GIVEaPINT.org to review eligibility criteria and schedule online.
Eligibility criteria for travel were recently revised, Clemens said, so many individuals who were previously deferred from donating blood may now be eligible to do so.
