American Red Cross declares blood crisis, says donations are at 4-year low
CHICAGO (WLS) -- The American Red Cross says low blood donations are at a crisis level.
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There is less than one day of supply left for Type "O" blood.
This is only the second time the American Red Cross has ever declared a crisis.
The organization cited many factors for low donations, including illness and air quality.
Mara Thompson with the American Red Cross joined ABC7 to explain what the "crisis" means.
Summer is traditionally one of the toughest times of the year for blood collections.
After eight years on-staff at the Red Cross, helping to organize blood drives, Emily Alanis found herself in need of an emergency blood transfusion weeks before she was due to give birth to her son, Elliot.
She said doctors sprang into action when she went in for a check-up.
"Your platelet count has severely dropped and we're calling in specialists to see what we have to do," Alanis recalled.
And two days after he was born, Elliot also needed a transfusion.
"My antibodies had transferred to him and they started biting his blood; so he needed two transfusions of platelets," Alanis said.
Alanis says she's thankful there was enough blood available to help the two of them at that crucial time.
The blood supply has fallen nearly 25 percent in June, and blood donations are at a four-year summer low.
Thompson says the alarm was first sounded a couple of weeks ago.
"A critical stage means that right now we are seeing less than a one day supply of some blood types," she said.
The Red Cross has begun limiting distributions of "O" blood to some hospitals, which means doctors may soon have to make decisions about who gets immediate care.
Only 3 percent of people in the U.S. donate blood for the rest of the country, and Thompson says if even more people rolled up their sleeves, that could help.
"If we just have three more people at the drives this month donating blood, that would get us out of this critical need and out of this crisis," Thompson said.
To find a blood drive near you, or to schedule an appointment visit redcrossblood.org.
