Minnesota is currently experiencing a blood emergency, and Woodbury residents can help.
Memorial Blood Centers supplies almost all the hospitals in the state with blood for transfusions. Thanks to the generosity of Minnesotans, there is usually ample blood for trauma patients, women hemorrhaging after childbirth, cancer patients and others hospitalized for surgery and medical conditions.
But for the second time this summer, Memorial has less than a two-day supply of life-saving donor blood.
“This is really unprecedented. We have announced another blood emergency this summer, just a short while after having one around the Memorial Day holiday,” said Senior Account Manager Michele Keil.
Keil added that she has never seen the state proclaim two emergencies in the same summer.
Woodbury residents can help ease the shortage by scheduling a donation online or by calling 888-GIVE-BLD (888-448-3253) to make an appointment during the bloodmobile’s regular monthly stop in Woodbury on Friday, July 31, at a donor center or at a nearby community blood drive.
Dana Malan, community supervisor at Memorial Blood Centers, explained that blood centers across the country typically work together when one region experiences a shortage. For example, a blizzard that keeps Minnesota donors home can often be offset by donations from other parts of the country. Malan said this summer’s shortage has been driven by a combination of heat, vacations and even interruptions to blood drives caused by World Cup matches, leaving no region with enough surplus blood to provide backup.
The shortage comes at a time when demand for blood typically rises during the summer months. News reports frequently highlight increases in high-speed crashes and shootings during the warmer months.
Traumatic injuries often cause severe bleeding. A single patient may need dozens, and sometimes more than 100, units of blood. A patient involved in a major car crash can require up to 50 units of red blood cells. A person with a gunshot wound needs about 10 times more blood than other trauma patients and is five times more likely to require a transfusion. Approximately 3% of trauma patients require what is known as a massive transfusion, defined as 10 or more units of red blood cells within 24 hours. Those patients account for about 70% of the center’s blood supply. More than half of trauma patients who die in the hospital die from blood loss.
Complicating the emergency is a shortage of O-negative blood. The 7% of people with this blood type are often called universal donors because their blood can be safely given to most patients in need. O-negative blood is especially important during emergencies and is often sent directly to emergency departments for immediate use in trauma patients.
Staff at Memorial Blood Centers recently reported having only 23 units of O-negative blood available for all the hospitals they serve, an amount dangerously below normal.
Donating blood is one of the few ways you can help save another Minnesotan’s life in less than an hour and leave with a sense of pride, a few cookies and, often, a souvenir T-shirt.
