Sucked Dry: Combating the Emergency Blood Shortage

Written by Trinity Liang | Edited by Amanda Fang

On September 11th, 2023, the American Red Cross declared a national blood shortage, reporting a drop in donations by almost 40%—the lowest in 20 years [1]. With supplies being depleted faster than hospitals receive donations, healthcare providers are left empty-handed in the face of this crisis.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, by July 2020, “40,000 blood drives [had] been canceled, […] resulting in over 1 million blood donations going uncollected”, as red blood cells (RBCs) expire after 42 days [2,3]. When lockdown policies were lifted, hospitals were overwhelmed by the backlog of postponed cases, leaving them with no choice but to delay elective operations even further and wait for the supply to recover [4]. Across the country, care is delayed and providers are forced to compromise treatments by dividing units of blood, as opposed to giving their patients nothing at all [5].

Older donors aging out of the donor pool, compounded with younger generations not replacing them, account for a drop in donations. Despite a 40.7% increase in donations from donors aged 65 and above from 2019 to 2021, donations from the 16-18-year-old and 19-24-year-old age groups have declined by 60.7% and 31.9%, respectively [6,7]. This may be due to older donors knowing more individuals who require donations than younger donors do. In a study of 350 donors, 90.3% of participants stated that they were more motivated to donate when they knew someone in need of blood [8]. In the U.S., patients over 60 account for 76% of transfusions [9], paralleling the age range of most donors.

Additionally, the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on historically marginalized groups exacerbated these groups’ distrust of the healthcare system, driving them away from treatment and donating [10]. With only 12.2% of blood donations being collected from minority groups in 2024—a 35.4% decrease from 2019—there is an urgent need to diversify the donor pool [4]. Inherited conditions such as sickle cell disease and thalassemia occur more frequently in African Americans, Latinos, and South Asians and necessitate frequent blood transfusions to supply functional red blood cells. Individuals with these conditions often have ethnically specific blood antigens. If the donor’s blood lacks the same antigen as the recipient, the recipient’s immune system may attack the donated blood, causing complications during transfusion [11]. Without donations that encompass the diversity of the population, equitable care is not guaranteed.

In the face of this daunting shortage, organizations and research endeavors need to be more devoted to donor recruitment and retention, especially as donors cite time constraints as the main reason behind their lapse or reduction in donation frequency [12]. The American Red Cross is actively increasing its social media presence to reach younger audiences. Mobile blood drive units and pop-up donation centers are being established in community centers, corporate offices, and college campuses, offering a convenient opportunity for anyone to contribute [13]. Donors who received follow-up texts describing the specific use of their donations, such as the hospital it was delivered to or the date of use, are 10% more likely to donate again, compared to those who only received a standard “thank you” message [14]. By continuing to engage and educate all sectors of the community, there is a potential to rebuild a strong blood supply system that transcends individuals, granting accessible and equitable care to every member of our population.

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