Red Cross Makes Urgent Plea for Blood Donors
Red Cross says brutal winter weather causing critical blood shortage.
Jan. 26, 2011— -- Brian Boyle never gave much thought to donating blood until a horrific accident nearly seven years ago.
"One month after my high school graduation, I was coming home from swim practice when I had a near- fatal car accident with a dump truck," said Boyle. "My heart was ripped across my chest, my lungs collapsed, my organs were damaged, I broke my clavicle and I lost 60 percent of my blood."
Boyle, now 24, was in a medically-induced coma for two months and among other life-saving procedures, had 36 blood transfusions and 13 plasma treatments.
He said he could not have survived without blood transfusions, which is why he now encourages people to get out and donate.
The cold weather months are an especially vital time to push for donations, because the number of donors tends to decrease during the winter. This winter has brought especially brutal weather across the country, and according to the American Red Cross, the nationwide blood supply is at its lowest January levels in the last 10 years. The agency is trying to get the word out that blood is urgently needed.
"When severe weather disrupts [the balance between supply and demand], the Red Cross puts out a call to potential blood donors across the country to give blood as soon as possible and help make up the deficit," Dr. Richard Benjamin, chief medical officer for the American Red Cross, said in a press release.
The Red Cross says someone needs a blood transfusion every two seconds in the U.S. because of injuries, surgery and treatments for diseases like cancer and sickle cell anemia. The organization says it needs all blood types, especially type O, and encourages everyone at least 17 years old in overall good health to see if they are eligible to donate.
Blood and blood components, like platelets, are extremely perishable and need to be replenished constantly.
"Platelets have a shelf life of only five days, and regular bood has a shelf life of 6 weeks," said Dr. Ronald Sacher, director of the Hoxworth Blood Center at the University of Cincinnati.
Sacher says the Hoxworth's supply is about 520 units below what it should be.
