Local medical providers facing blood shortage post-pandemic
(FOX 5 DC) - Area medical providers say they need you to help them save lives. It’s because they’re dealing with an especially significant blood shortage right now.
"Blood shortages in the summer are kind of the norm, but this summer it’s been really challenging," said Inova Blood Donor Services Donor Recruitment Manager Heather Wade.
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"One blood donation saves up to three lives," added Red Cross Spokesperson Lisa Futterman, who previously spoke about the shortage with WTOP, "so it’s pretty powerful what it can do."
Wade and Futterman listed several factors contributing to the problem. They include the large number of people traveling this summer, even more than usual, leaving less time to donate blood. Also, they said with more people hitting the road and resuming normal life, there’s been a rise in traumatic injuries. And finally, they said there are a lot of people who put off having elective surgeries during the pandemic and who are deciding to have them now.
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"Blood can’t be manufactured. It doesn’t come in powder form. We don’t have five-gallon Home Depot buckets with distilled water and, you know, A-positive, A-negative red powder that we can mix. It has to come from another human being," Wade said, stressing that that human being could be a loved one or your neighbor.
If you’d like more information on how to donate blood, you can head to this link for Inova and this link for Red Cross.