Meeting a Critical Need: Answering the Call to Donate Blood
Every day in hospitals across America, patients depend on blood transfusions to survive and heal. Trauma victims, cancer patients, mothers experiencing childbirth complications, children with serious illnesses, and people undergoing major surgeries all rely on a safe and readily available blood supply.
Most of us never think about blood availability until someone we love needs it. But today, blood collection organizations are warning that supplies have fallen to dangerously low levels, creating challenges for hospitals and raising concerns about access to lifesaving transfusions for patients who need them most.
The U.S. Blood Shortage and How It Affects Hospitals, Patients, and Emergency Care
For only the second time in its history, the American Red Cross has declared a national blood supply crisis, citing a significant decline in donations and critically low inventories of certain blood types. The message echoes warnings from the Association for the Advancement of Blood and Biotherapies’ Interorganizational Task Force on Domestic Disasters and Acts of Terrorism, of which the AHA is a member, that blood supplies are significantly lower than they should be.
Behind these statistics and warnings are real patients and real families.
When blood supplies are strained, hospitals and clinicians face increasingly difficult challenges. A shortage can affect the availability of blood products needed for emergency care, trauma treatment, cancer therapies and complex surgical procedures. While hospitals work tirelessly to manage their inventories responsibly and ensure patients receive the care they need, a stable blood supply remains an essential component of our nation’s health care infrastructure.
The encouraging news is that this is a problem we can help solve together.
Blood cannot be manufactured. It cannot be replicated in a laboratory. It can only come from generous individuals who choose to donate. Every donation has the potential to save multiple lives and help ensure that blood is available whenever and wherever a patient needs it.
Informing Communities about the Shortage and How to Donate Blood
That is why the AHA is encouraging hospitals and health systems to work with community partners to raise awareness about the importance of blood donation and help connect eligible donors with opportunities to give. We also urge members of the public to consider making an appointment to donate if they are eligible.
People interested in donating can find more information through:
- American Red Cross: www.RedCrossBlood.org | 1-800-RED-CROSS
- America's Blood Centers: www.americasblood.org
- AABB Blood Donation Locator: www.WhereToDonateBlood.org
At the same time, the AHA continues to work with blood collection organizations, healthcare leaders and federal partners on strategies to strengthen the nation’s blood supply. These efforts include raising public awareness, sharing best practices with hospitals and health systems, and exploring opportunities to expand the workforce trained to collect blood donations. Please see the AHA Advisory for more information and resources.
Help End the Blood Shortage Today
Yet no strategy will succeed without volunteers willing to roll up their sleeves.
In the United States, someone needs blood every two seconds. For patients facing medical emergencies, serious illnesses or life-saving procedures, blood availability can mean the difference between life and death.
The solution begins with each of us.
If you are eligible to donate, please consider making an appointment. A single donation takes only a short time, but its impact can last a lifetime for the patients and families counting on it.
When you give blood, you may never meet the person whose life you help save. But your gift could be exactly what they need when they need it most.