Company needs blood donations

Blood donations are needed. Vitalant, the nation’s largest nonprofit independent blood collector, has had 150 blood drive cancellations since early March, just before the start of the state’s stay-at-home orders.

As of May 21, Vitalant declared a critical appeal, or a significant blood shortage, said Sarah Wering, the marketing and communications specialist for Vitalant at 710 Leona St. in Elyria.

During a typical critical appeal, it’s believed the blood shortage can correct itself within a two-week period, Wering said.

Due to closed businesses and colleges, she said she doesn’t believe the situation will correct itself with the loss of nearly 3,000 uncollected blood donations.

“We’re going to be in a critical situation for a long time,” Wering said. “We don’t see this issue returning to normal in the summer.

“We’re facing a nationwide blood shortage due to

negative factors working together.”

During spring months, Vitalant relies heavily on the blood drives hosted by businesses, high schools and colleges.

With the closing of all three main sponsors, blood donations are needed for sick or traumatized patients in the surrounding communities.

“There’s been a rapid increase in the use of blood products,” Wering said. “Just because the pandemic is going on, the need for blood hasn’t stopped.”

With a resumption of surgeries and other medical procedures as stay-at-home restrictions were lifted, the need for blood during the past few weeks has rapidly escalated, she said.

“Once the stay-at-home orders were lifted, we started to see an increase, almost immediately, from hospitals of 25% in terms of how many more blood products they needed,” Wering said. “The blood drive sponsors we need aren’t available and now we have a rapid increase in how much blood the hospitals are using compared to two months ago.”

The U.S. Surgeon General and Federal Emergency Management Agency have designated blood donation as an essential activity and encourages healthy, eligible donors to donate.

To follow ensure safety of donors and staff, Vitalant is putting measures in place that include: taking donors’ temperatures upon check-in (staff self-monitor their temperatures); requiring face masks or cloth-based face coverings for both donors and staff; disinfecting donor-touched and other high-touch areas often; and after every donation and ensuring social distancing to keep donors and staff safe.

All blood types are critically needed, especially for type O, A-negative and Bnegative red blood cells.

In Northeast Ohio, Vitalant must collect more than 100 blood donations per day to meet patients’ transfusion needs.

Every two seconds, someone needs blood.

All blood collected goes back to aid those who need it in the Northeast Ohio Community, Wering said.

“We need people to step up and donate blood so we have blood for treatments plus the trauma and elective surgeries that have resumed,” she said.

“There’s been a rapid increase in the use of blood products. Just because the pandemic is going on, the need for blood hasn’t stopped.”

— Sarah Wering, the marketing and communications specialist for Vitalant