Virginia Blood Services Facing Summer Shortage; Donors Urged To Help Replenish Local Blood Supply

VBSVirginia Blood Services is urging Virginians to help replenish an extremely low summer blood supply and asking eligible donors to visit any one of its area Community Donor Centers or mobile blood drives. “Summer is always a challenging time for blood collections,” says Virginia Blood Services Executive Director, Todd Cahill. “Maintaining a safe and adequate blood supply is our top priority. Currently, both local and national blood supplies are at significantly low levels.”

In order to ensure adequate blood supply to support treatment of patients, including those with cancer and other life-threatening diseases, patients undergoing organ transplants, and trauma victims, Virginia Blood Services notes it is crucial that donors come out to donate as often as possible, especially during August.

As the need for blood increases during the summer, the number of blood donors significantly decreases, causing an area wide and often nation-wide blood shortage. Some of the larger blood drives that bring in more donors are held at area high schools and universities, which are closed or on reduced hours during the summer break. Summer vacation travel schedules are another reason why blood donations plummet during July and August.

Every two seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood. But while national tragedies
like the recent Orlando and Dallas shootings shine a light on the importance of
blood donations, the fact is that approximately 36,000 units of red blood cells are
needed every day in the U.S. A single car accident victim can require as many as 100 pints of blood. Additionally, more than 1.68 million people are expected to be diagnosed with
cancer in 2016. Many of them will need blood, sometimes daily, during their chemotherapy treatment.

Although all blood is made of the same basic elements, not all blood is alike. In fact, there are eight different common blood types which are determined by the presence or absence of certain antigens – substances that can trigger an immune response if they are foreign to the body. Since some antigens can trigger a patient’s immune system to attack the transfused blood, safe blood transfusions depend on careful blood typing and cross-matching.

Established in 1974 and a business unit of The Institute for Transfusion Medicine, Virginia Blood Services is a not-for-profit organization that provides blood products and transfusion-related services to Richmond, Charlottesville, Harrisonburg, Roanoke, Winchester, Washington DC and West Virginia. Blood donors must be 17 years old, or 16 with signed parental consent, and should prepare by eating a meal or healthy snack and properly hydrating. Donors must bring photo identification when they donate. For more information, visit vablood.org, or call 800-989-4438.

Latest Articles

- Advertisement -

Latest Articles

- Advertisement -

Related Articles