Blood donations urgently needed for hospital patients in wake of back-to-back climate disasters and critical summer shortfall

The American Red Cross national blood supply has fallen to critically low levels—dropping nearly 25%-- since early August, and potentially threatening the medical care of patients with an emergency need for blood, or those living with critical conditions such as cancer and sickle cell disease and who depend on lifesaving blood transfusions. Back-to-back months of worsening climate-driven disasters have further strained the blood supply, resulting in blood drive cancelations and reducing much needed blood and platelet donations in affected areas.

Donors of all blood types are urgently needed, and there is an emergency need for platelet donors and type O blood donors to make an appointment to give now to ensure patients across the country continue to receive critical medical care. To make an appointment to give blood or platelets, donors can use the Red Cross Blood App, visit RedCrossBlood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).

The Red Cross is closely monitoring Hurricane Lee and its potential impact to communities in the Northeast later this week—which may further hamstring the organization’s ability to collect lifesaving blood products during this critical time. Just a couple weeks ago, Hurricane Idalia slammed into the southeastern U.S. causing more than 700 units of blood and platelets to go uncollected. This compounds other challenges experienced by the organization this summer to collect a sufficient number of blood products. Donor turnout in August dropped on the heels of one of the busiest travel seasons on record and back-to-school activities, contributing to a 30,000-donation shortfall in August alone.

“For so many patients living with urgent medical care needs, crises don’t stop with natural disasters,” said Dr. Pampee Young, chief medical officer for the American Red Cross. “In fact, in some instances the stress of a disaster can lead to a medical crisis for some individuals battling sickle cell disease. The need for blood is constant. Every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood---an often-invisible emergency that the rest of the world doesn’t see behind closed hospital doors. Now, that urgency has only heightened.”

Right now, blood product distributions to hospitals are outpacing the number of blood donations. Approximately 2,500 hospitals and transfusion centers across the country rely on the Red Cross to collect 12,5000 blood donations each day to meet the needs of their patients.

Read more at redcross.org