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Amid the Worst Blood Shortage in Over a Decade, Find Out How You Can Help

April 20, 2022

Across the United States, there continues to be a critical need for blood as donations have declined since the start of the pandemic and most recently during the Omicron COVID-19 surge.

In January, the American Red Cross announced a national blood crisis – the worst blood shortage in over a decade. It reported a 10% decline in the number of blood donations as well as ongoing blood drive cancellations and staffing issues due to Covid-19.

If you are a healthy individual, the Red Cross is urging you to donate. One donation can save as many as three lives.

“When one person donates blood, it is separated into three parts,” said Eugene “Skip” Lewis III, DO, pathologist and chair of laboratory services at St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Bridgeport. “The blood is separated into the red blood cells, which can be used for traumas. The platelets and plasma are also separated and each one of those can be used for different patients depending on their illness.”

Giving blood is often called the gift of life because its impact can be immediate, especially in trauma situations.

“The most immediate use for blood is trauma cases due to the oxygen-carrying capacity of red blood cells,” Dr. Lewis explained. “Especially in time-sensitive trauma when blood is needed right away.”

At Hartford HealthCare, blood supply is provided by the Connecticut Blood Center. Due to this partnership, blood supply has remained adequate throughout the pandemic, but there is always a need to build up the reserve supply.

“The blood products themselves are only good for a specific amount of time, they are not viable indefinitely,” said Dr. Lewis. “For the most part, blood can stay refrigerated for only about 42 days.”

There are eight different blood types, and while all blood types are needed, type O is considered the universal donor because the blood can be given to anyone regardless of their blood type.

“Type O negative is what we use in most trauma situations,” Dr. Lewis explained. “If we don’t have the person’s blood type and there is not enough time to find out, we use O negative because they will not react to it.”

You can find out if you are eligible to donate blood by visiting the Connecticut Blood Center’s website. In general, you must be 17 years old and weigh at least 110 pounds. You cannot donate if you are pregnant, if you are not feeling well, have had any cancers of the blood, are taking certain medications or have had a Covid-19 infection in the past 14 days.

“Before you donate you will fill out a questionnaire and go through a process to make sure that you are eligible,” Dr. Lewis said. “Once your blood is donated it will be immediately tested for several infectious diseases so that we know the blood is safe from an infectious disease standpoint. If your blood does turn up positive you’ll be notified.”