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You may not know it, but there’s an emergency situation unfolding right now in South Carolina – and across the United States. The nation’s blood supply is critically low, which impacts our ability to respond to every other emergency we face as a country.
According to the American Red Cross, the number of people giving blood has dropped to its lowest level this century. In fact, the group says the number of donors has dropped 40% over the last 20 years. As a result, eight community blood centers only have enough blood on hand to last them for a single day – or less.
That means hospitals are dispensing blood products faster than they’re coming in. This is a critical situation because every two seconds, someone in our country needs a blood product. Whether doctors are dealing with traumatic injuries sustained in a car crash, complications in childbirth or even chronic conditions such as cancer or severe anemia, when a patient needs blood – they need it immediately.
There is no time to wait.
“Do I have worries or concerns about the blood supply? The answer is yes.”
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That’s the view of Collin Tully, M.D. an acute care surgeon who serves as trauma director at Lexington Medical Center - an award-winning hospital system in the Midlands region of South Carolina.
“As a provider, I may need something that can save a patient's life, and it may be scarce or even unavailable," Dr. Tully said. "Of course, that's something I worry about.”
The concern is especially pressing at the moment. The Red Cross’ state of emergency has been in place since December. Donations typically drop in wintertime, when bad weather and illnesses like the flu account for part of the problem. Another factor involves more people working from home - which means fewer office blood drives and fewer people dropping by blood banks on their lunch breaks to donate.
While most of us are aware of the need for blood following accidents and prolonged ailments, Dr. Tully says other types of medical procedures and treatment are adding to the demand.
“With the advent of the litany of newer medications, even the blood thinning agents and things of that nature, the need for blood and blood products overall is increasing," he said.
In short: Demand is way up while supply is way down.
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“Blood and blood products are used in essentially every hospital every day - for every patient population," Dr. Tully explained. "From a pediatric patient to a geriatric patient, you will utilize in some way, shape, or form blood or blood products every single day. And to put it very plainly, that blood and those blood products do save lives.
“It's not just trauma, it's not just surgery,” he continued. “It can go toward helping things that are chronic in nature. Sometimes, people have anemia - or low blood or blood counts from things like specific types of cancer or longstanding issues that require blood or blood products to help support the patient through that process.”
With such limited availability, Dr. Tully and his colleagues have had to closely monitor the blood supply situation.
“Every month, we have a trauma conference where we have not just the surgeons and people who work in trauma, but also the nursing staff and hospital leadership," he said. "Representatives from our blood bank are there, too, and we talk about the status of our blood supply. We utilize blood and blood products a lot in trauma and surgery, so that is something that our team members have to understand."
At these conferences, "we talk about how the blood supply nationally is lower than what it has been," Dr. Tully said.
The only solution? Convincing more people to roll up their sleeves and give.
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"Our blood bank personnel say we have to encourage everyone to talk to friends and family and try to get them to donate," Dr. Tully said.
He also stressed the importance of "outreach and information" regarding the crisis.
"As systems and as hospitals and communities, what we want to do is take care of each other," he said. "If we acknowledge the situation and get the information out there about the need - and the reasons why we’re in this predicament - people will want to go and donate. If they understand that we can come together as a community to make sure we help the people who are in need, I think everybody will do it.”
“I said at the beginning I’m concerned about the blood supply," he added. “But while I do have concerns about availability, what I don't worry about is the will of our community to come together and help each other."
Let's prove him right...
If you, your family, your neighbors, your church group or your civic organization would like to donate blood, it is a very simple process. You can make an appointment today by downloading the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org, calling 1-800-733-2767, or enabling the Blood Donor Skill on any Alexa Echo device.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR...
J. Mark Powell is an award-winning former TV journalist, government communications veteran, and a political consultant. He is also an author and an avid Civil War enthusiast. Got a tip or a story idea for Mark? Email him at mark@fitsnews.com.
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