The two blood centers that supply Tri-State hospitals say their supplies are dangerously low, and they're encouraging people who are able to donate blood.
"The current status is that we are in a critical state, which is defined (as) we cannot keep up with the pace of usage and the demands from our local hospitals," says Tracy Morgan, vice president of donor services for Solvita (formerly Community Blood Center).
Morgan says the type O positive and negative supply is categorized as critical need, and both type B supplies are exhausted. Type A negative is also needed.
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Likewise, Hoxworth says it needs type O (both) and platelets, however its situation isn't quite as dire.
"We are not in a critical state just yet, but we are trying to be proactive," says Jen Howell, division director of marketing and communications with Hoxworth Blood Center.
Why the shortages?
Morgan says there have been shortages all summer, but a combination of high usage and a summer decline in donations have resulted in this critical call for donors.
"There have been lots of traumas over the summer, which we typically see in the summer," she explains. "For instance, we've seen a number of motorcycle accidents, which you see more in the summer than you would in January. We've seen some bicycle accidents — people out riding their bikes, enjoying the nice weather. Once again, you don't see that as much in January in Ohio. We've also had traumas with gunshot wounds, we've had stabbings, we've had some open heart surgeries that have used double the amount of units that they normally would."
Howell says Hoxworth has also seen an uptick in traumas. The center also announced last week that its ability to collect donations was affected by the CrowdStrike computer outage that affected millions of systems. The agency said its systems and centers were down on July 19.
"We continue to contact those donors who were scheduled to come in that day. A few of them have rescheduled, but not all of them. We definitely went from a low inventory to then not having anyone on that Friday morning, which definitely went into a trickle effect for the next week as well," Howell says.
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Morgan reports Solvita was unable to send out some blood orders because of the CrowdStrike outage but was still able to schedule donors.
These issues are on top of summer already being a typically slow time for blood donation. Lots of donors are on vacation and there are fewer blood drives scheduled so donors need to go to a regular donor center to give blood. The centers also aren't receiving donations from high school blood donations because schools aren't in session. Morgan reports high school blood drives account for 18% of Solvita's collections.
Donation information
Generally speaking, you can donate blood every eight weeks, specifically, every 56 days. Donors must be at least 16 years old and weigh 110 pounds.
More specific information on how to donate can be found at Hoxworth Blood Center and Solvita.
Hoxworth serves 18 counties in Southwestern Ohio, Northern Kentucky and Southeastern Indiana.
Solvita serves 18 counties in Southwestern and Western Ohio, and Southeastern Indiana.
