Sick and injured people in Pittsburgh need blood donors
In 1970, President Richard Nixon proclaimed January as National Blood Donor Month, in part to honor those who had already given blood, but also to encourage first-time donors to give during one of the most crucial times of the year. The winter months are especially tough for blood donation; Cold weather brings more illnesses and injuries, while holiday travel and cold and flu season pushes down donation numbers.
This January, we are reminded that there’s a shortage in the blood supply, locally as well as nationally. It would only take 1% of Americans — just three million of us — to meet the needs of every hospital, and every person in need of blood.
Every two seconds, someone in America requires a blood transfusion. One in every seven hospital patients need donated blood on any given day. These are people suffering severe trauma from surgery, childbirth complications, burns, and other serious needs. They also include cancer patients, who receive about one-quarter of donated blood.
Marginalized people are especially important for blood donation, as certain diseases are more prevalent in communities of color, or can only be matched with certain blood types. For example, sickle cell disease affects African Americans at a higher rate than other communities, and one-third of Africans American blood donors are a match to help them.
As the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Kris B. Mamula reported back in November, sickle cell disease affects about 100,000 people in the U.S., and an estimated 3,870 in Pennsylvania. This includes hundreds of families in the Pittsburgh region. Blood to help them is less commonly donated, leaving these patients especially vulnerable.
If helping others and meeting needs are not enough motivation, this month blood banks are enticing potential donors with prizes. The Red Cross has partnered with the NFL to offer January donors a chance to win a trip to the Super Bowl (an event which could feature the Steelers, fingers crossed). Vitalant, a blood bank operator with locations in the Pittsburgh region, is offering a raffle for $500 gift cards to all January and early-February donors.
There are a few guidelines to keep in mind: The Red Cross requires donors be at least 17 years of age, or 16 with parental consent, weigh at least 110 pounds and be in generally good health. All donors must show two forms of identification.
If someone cannot give blood, they can help in other ways. Blood banks are constantly looking for volunteers, whether in person or online, to help coordinate drives, schedule appointments, and transport blood.
Giving blood saves lives in Pittsburgh and across the world. If just 1% of us decided to join the 7 million Americans already doing so, we could make blood shortages disappear completely.