In Chicagoland:
Black donors needed to aid with sickle cell patients
Illinois’ blood supply is “critically low,” having rapidly declined since the beginning of the pandemic.
Illinois’ blood supply has been rapidly declining since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March, according to officials at the Illinois Coalition of Community Blood Centers (ICCBC), a statewide organization comprised of a collection of independent blood banks.
The present supply will last only two days or less, putting it at a “critically low” level, explained Margaret Vaughn, government affairs director for the ICCBC.
Blood collection is considered an essential service, but organizations that typically hold public blood drives, such as schools, churches and businesses, canceled their scheduled blood drives for fear of there being too many people, possibly making social distancing a problem.
“It should not have been an issue to begin with, it was kind of a misconception,” said Vaughn. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with the Illinois Department of Public Health gave specific guidelines for blood donations to continue during the pandemic, Vaughn said, which include staggering donation times, taking people’s temperatures, wearing masks and gloves, donor cots situated 6 feet apart and constant sanitation.
There is a particular need for more African American blood donors, whose donations can help patients who have sickle cell disease, an inherited red blood disorder that disproportionately affects the Black community. Ninety-eight percent of all sickle cell disease patients are African Americans, according to information from the Red Cross.
Sickle cell patients often require frequent blood transfusions, and the best blood type matches “often come from donors of the same race or ethnic group,” states the Red Cross. Yet, by late March to early April, the percentage of African American donors had decreased between 50% to 60%, said Dr. Yvette Miller, Red Cross executive medical officer. “It was really startling,” she said.
“People who had serious or chronic medical conditions should really honor those shelter-in-place orders, and many of those individuals in the African American community had some of those chronic conditions: hypertension, diabetes, obesity,” said Miller. “They were rightfully so honoring those shelter-inplace orders.”
With Black Americans dying from COVID-19 at a significantly disproportionate rate than other races, the decrease in African American donations is not surprising — leaving the house puts members of the Black community more at risk.
As some of the shelter-inplace orders have been lifted, Miller has seen a slight uptick in Black people coming to donate, but mostly, there’s still a reluctance within the community, she said.
“Our collections are still lower than they are yearover-year, but we’re definitely starting to see some African American donors come to present,” said Miller. “We definitely need more, but African Americans
have understood the messaging that blood donation is an essential service and there’s no substitution for blood donation.”
Miller understands the reluctance to come out, especially since there have been surges of COVID-19 cases throughout the country. She does want to let healthy African Americans know that blood collection sites are taking every necessary precaution based on the CDC recommendations to ensure the safety of the donors.
“When African Americans come out to donate, they are helping support the health and wellness of the African American community, and meeting their responsibility to do outreach and support of other individuals in the community,” she said. “A lot of people will look at it as their social responsibility and civic duty to support members of their own community.”
The shelf life for blood is only 42 days, Vaughn said, so there is a need for constant supply. She added that the summer season is also a time of increased demand for blood.
“It’s not like toilet paper, where they can stockpile,” she said. “Blood has to be tested, and ready on the shelf, and ready to go.”
With people working from home indefinitely, Vaughn predicts the shortage will last for another six months at least. But as the state settles into phase four, she is calling on organizations to resume their blood drives.
“I sent out a plea at the very end of May asking for the legislators to come forward and to host a blood drive in their community and (many) have done so,” said Vaughn. “Some of them are having more than one, so that’s helped a lot. Now that the limits have lifted, we’re hoping the people will be more open to having the drives.”
To make an appointment to donate blood or to set up your own blood drive with the Red Cross, visit RedCrossBlood.org or call 800-733-2767.