The local blood supply is critically low — with only enough of some types to last for hours — at some blood banks serving the Inland Empire.
A combination of the busy holiday season, supply-chain issues, widespread sickness and bad winter weather has led to the problem, officials said.
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“We are extremely concerned,” Dr. Rick Axelrod, president and CEO of Inland Empire-based LifeStream Blood Bank, said in a news release. “We will not be able to meet the needs of local hospital patients if we don’t receive more blood donations from our community members.”
As of Friday, Dec. 30, LifeStream had just a half-day’s supply of blood on hand, and “hours left” of O, A negative and B positive blood types, officials said. The bank, which supplies blood to more than 80 hospitals in Southern California, currently can’t provide them with more than one unit of O-positive red blood cells, and even less of its limited O-negative supply.
“We’re seeing a lot of people get sick, so they’re obviously not coming in to donate,” spokesperson Dina Colunga said. “The holiday season is always one of the toughest times for us.”
Colunga also said that 20% of the blood bank’s supply comes from school collection events, but schools are out for the holiday break.
Types O, A and B are “desperately needed,” especially for hospital procedures, Axelrod said. The bank “will be unable to supply hospitals with the product they need for lifesaving treatments if we cannot get more blood on our shelves.”
The Southern California Blood Bank, a division of the San Diego Blood Bank that serves southwest Riverside County, also has “a day and a half or less supply of almost all types,” spokesperson Claudine Van Gonka said Friday. “We generally like to keep a five-to-seven-day supply of all types on hand.”
Van Gonka said the blood bank had less than a half-day’s supply of O positive — the most common blood type in the U.S. — as of Friday, and it’s the “most critical.”
“Due to a supply-chain issue, we are currently out of the special kits we use to collect blood from donors who donate ‘double reds,’ which is essentially twice the amount of red blood cells than we’d collect during a regular blood donation,” Van Gonka said.
The Southern California Blood Bank expects the shortage to last another one to two weeks and is asking for more donors to fill the gaps.
The onset of the coronavirus pandemic saw historically low turnout for blood donations. Inland blood banks experienced similar blood supply shortages over the summer, due to the coronavirus surge and the spread of variants.
Officials from the American Red Cross Southern California Region said that blood products — especially type O blood and platelets — are “in constant need.”
Spokesperson Christine Welch said by email Friday that, nationally, the American Red Cross has a three-to-five-day supply on hand for local patients.
But blood supply “can dwindle quickly after a large number of blood drive cancellations in a short period,” Welch said, citing the winter weather and donors being unavailable because of illness, vacations or activities.
Nationwide, the American Red Cross has seen hundreds of blood drives canceled across the country, causing about “9,000 blood platelet donations to go uncollected.”
“More people are needed to donate now to help make up for the canceled donations to ensure blood remains available for patients,” Welch said. “However, the need for blood is constant. Red blood cells have a shelf life of 42 days, and platelets have a shelf life of only five days, so the blood supply must constantly be replenished.”
“Individuals who roll up a sleeve can help ensure that blood products are on the shelves to help save lives when emergencies occur,” Welch said.
Van Gonka added: “The holiday season generally is a tough time to collect blood since high schools and colleges are out for winter break and not hosting their regular blood drives, people are traveling and busy with holiday plans, and blood donation is not top of mind for most people.”
