Vitalant Blood Donation declares emergency blood shortage
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Monday morning, Deborah Haas-Henry was at Vitalant giving blood. It's something she's been doing every eight weeks for more than a year now.
"My husband was giving blood he said you know you really should too, it’s kind of the right thing to do. I said oh okay. There was a time we thought my granddaughter might need a blood transfusion, and we thought oh we’re gonna get ahead of this and pay it forward as much as we can," said Haas-Henry.
However, Haas-Henry's donations alone won't put a dent in a nationwide need. Blood supply across the country is critically low and Colorado is feeling the effect, the national non-profit, Vitalant is declaring an emergency blood shortage.
Vitalant says about 900 hospitals nationwide are at their lowest level in a year. The number of people donating is down by about 20% in the last three years.
"The need for blood does not stop. Patients need it and depend on blood transfusions everything single day throughout the state of Colorado," said Brooke Way with Vitalant.
Way says the reason behind the dip right now is the Holiday and Winter season. During the recent cold snap, 55 blood drives were canceled in the Colorado region meaning 1,300 units couldn't be collected.
The pandemic continues to impact the way people give as well. The number of business-hosted blood drives are down by 50% since 2019.
"That’s because people are working remotely now, some businesses have closed their doors, so we aren’t seeing as many blood drives happening and that’s why we have seen a drastic dip in the number of blood drives," said Way.
Way adds staffing shortages on their end also contribute to a lower number of blood drives.
They are urging people to make an appointment before going to a donation center.
