(Blood shortages are one reason hospital's are considering developing blood management programs- comment inserted by poster)
Red Cross: Region facing critical blood shortage
SAN DIEGO – San Diego Red Cross officials said Monday the organization is facing its most critical blood shortage in six years and warned that doctors could have to postpone elective surgeries if the supply remains so low.
In a news conference in front of Scripps Mercy Hospital, officials urged people to donate blood as soon as possible to ensure there is enough of the life-saving resource for local hospital patients.
The Red Cross has less than a five-hour supply of type O negative blood on hand and only a seven-hour supply of type O positive, two of the most commonly transfused blood types, said Stephen Whitburn, spokesman for San Diego American Red Cross Blood Services.
Type O blood is known as the universal blood type because it can be transfused into anyone regardless of their blood type.
The supply of type A negative blood is also very low with just a one-day supply available. A five-day supply is considered adequate, Whitburn said.
Factors that have led to the shortage include a growing – and aging – population as well as new medical technologies that require more transfusions.
Blood donations traditionally decline during the summer months because people are on vacation and colleges and schools – where blood drives are frequently held – are not in session, Whitburn said.
“The reason we are here is not to scare you but to remind you that our blood supply is our community resource,” said Dr. Michael Sise, chief of Trauma Services at Scripps Mercy Hospital. “We never know when someone in our families is going to need a blood transfusion. Now is our opportunity to make the community safer for all of us.”
Blood donations are used to help a variety of patients, from accident victims to cancer patients to premature babies. According to the American Red Cross only 3 percent of eligible people donate blood in any given year.
Donors must be healthy, at least 17 years old, and weigh 110 pounds. Additional information can be found at
www.givelife.org or by calling (800) GIVELIFE.
“America's blood supply relies entirely on volunteer donors,” Whitburn said. “There are no substitutes. We need to make sure there is enough for everybody, including ourselves.”
The American Red Cross blood bank collects 30,000 units of blood from San Diego County donors and distributes 60,000 units to San Diego County hospitals through contracts with UCSD Medical Center, Palomar and Pomerado, Tri-City Medical Center and five hospitals in the Scripps network.
The competing San Diego Blood Bank also put out a call for blood donors on July 5 which, according to spokeswoman Lynn Stedd, resulted in an increase in donations over the weekend. However, she warned, the Blood Bank's supplies are nowhere near where officials would like to deal with the shortage.
Stedd said the San Diego Blood Bank is down to 9 units of Type 0+ blood.
“That's not unusual for this time of year, but that doesn't mean that it's acceptable,” she said. “It is a dangerous situation.”
The San Diego Blood Bank collects 120,000 units of blood a year from San Diego, Imperial and Southern Riverside County donors and is the primary seller to the five Sharp hospitals network, the Veteran's Administration Medical Center, Kaiser, Fallbrook Hospital, Kindred Hospital, Scripps Chula Vista, University Community Medical Center, Paradise Valley, Tri-City, Rady Children's and Alvarado, and about 40 other hospitals in other Southern California counties.
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