The American Red Cross reported Monday that it is experiencing a blood shortage emergency, and extreme heat may be partly to blame.
In a press release, the organization reported that its national blood inventory has been reduced by more than 25% since July 1.
Heat waves and record temperatures have affected more than 100 blood drives in the past month across all states where the Red Cross collects blood. This has led to fewer people donating and contributed to a shortfall of more than 19,000 donations in July based on hospitals’ projected needs, according to the Red Cross.
This is in addition to other factors that often limit blood donations during the summer, such as travel and seasonal activities, according to the organization.
The Red Cross also suspects that August will pose a threat to replenishing available blood supplies due to the start of the peak hurricane season in the Atlantic, which often causes flooding and power outages that can cancel blood drives and lead to a low number of donors.
The Red Cross says it supplies about 40 percent of the country’s blood donations.
According to the Red Cross, type O blood donors are most in need right now for two reasons. Type O blood is the most common, meaning most people who need blood will need type O blood.
Secondly, people with an O-negative blood type are so-called “universal donors,” meaning their donations can be used in transfusions for any patient with any blood type.
Because the supply of O-blood is currently very low, the Red Cross said it has had to reduce distributions of that type to hospitals.
“Having type O blood products readily available is vital to delivering fast, life-saving care to patients in need,” Dr. Baia Lasky, medical division chief for the Red Cross, said in the news release. “In fact, for a patient suffering massive blood loss, such as a person in a car accident or a mother experiencing severe postpartum hemorrhage, type O blood is the most commonly transfused. For trauma patients, every minute of delay can increase the chance of death by 5 percent.”
This is not the first time the American Red Cross has warned of the risk of blood shortages. Earlier this year, the organization said it was seeing the lowest number of blood donations in 20 years, something it continues to experience.
According to the Red Cross, only 3 percent of eligible Americans, or about 6.8 million, donate blood each year.
In an effort to boost donations, the Red Cross is offering anyone who donates blood before August 31 a $20 Amazon gift card via email.
“Blood cannot be manufactured or stored and can only be made available through the kindness of voluntary donors. It is the blood on the shelves now that helps during an emergency,” the Red Cross said in Monday’s statement.
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