Organizations say blood supplies low

The Arkansas Blood Institute and Community Blood Center of the Ozarks are facing low blood supplies going into the summer, officials said.

The season often poses a challenge to blood collection, according to local suppliers. Today is World Blood Donor Day, an opportunity for residents in Northwest Arkansas and the River Valley to help Arkansans in need, they said.

Based on standard use, the Arkansas Blood Institute has an approximately two- day supply of blood in storage, according to Joshua Gwin, community relations strategist. The organization supplies blood to Mercy Fort Smith and Baptist Health facilities in Fort Smith and Van Buren.

Gwin said an incident like a car accident could demand an amount of blood equivalent to 25 to 30 donations.

“A two-day supply is not where we want to be,” Gwin said. “We thought dealing with covid was tough, but it seems with increasing gas prices, and general unrest in our country, it becomes increasingly difficult to stay top of mind with the public.”

The organization has a group of donors who have helped throughout the pandemic, but will have to incentivize new volunteers to donate as often as they can in order to fix the problem, according to Gwin.

Donors can give blood as often as every 52 days, but blood lasts on the shelf for only 42 days, he said.

During the summer, Arkansas Blood Institute donors get a T-shirt and a voucher for a ticket to Magic Springs Theme and Water Park in Hot Springs, he said.

The Community Blood Center of the Ozarks — the exclusive provider of blood and blood products to hospitals in Northwest Arkansas and parts of Missouri and Kansas — is low on reserves for many blood types, but has critically low supplies of O positive and O negative types in particular, according to Michelle Teter, media relations representative.

O positive is the most common blood type and O negative is the most commonly used type for transfusions related to emergencies, Teter said.

About 40% of donations to the center come through high school blood drives, so the organization relies heavily on community donations during the summer, she said.

There is also more demand for blood during the summer due to accidents from increased travel, she said.

The city of Fayetteville is hosting a blood drive from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday in cooperation with the center at the downtown square, according to a city news release. Appointments are encouraged for those who plan to attend, the release states. Donors will receive a T-shirt.

In unique instances, donations by Arkansans could be sent to help in other regions of the country.

The center is a part of the Blood Emergency Readiness Corps, a network of about 30 blood centers nationwide. Through its partnership with the network, the local blood center sent part of its supply last month to assist victims of the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, Teter said.

Teter said member organizations take turns setting aside a portion of their supplies in case additional blood is needed during emergencies at other locations.

The Community Blood Center of the Ozarks was one of the regional centers on call during the shooting May 24, according to Teter. It sent three units of O negative blood to suppliers near the event.

The American Red Cross is not experiencing low supplies, but it is seeing a decreasing amount of donors, according to John A. Brimley, regional communications manager for Red Cross of Missouri and Arkansas.

Blood donations typically decline in the late spring and early summer, especially during holiday weekends, Brimley said.

The Red Cross does not supply blood to hospitals in Benton and Washington counties, but area residents can still give at locations across the counties, he said.

During June, Red Cross donors will be entered for a chance to win roundtrip flights to Memphis, a three-night hotel stay, a visit to Graceland and a Gibson Epiphone guitar, according to a Red Cross news release.

About 2.5 million people donate blood and platelets each year through the Red Cross, the release states.

“A two-day supply is not where we want to be. We thought dealing with covid was tough, but it seems with increasing gas prices, and general unrest in our country, it becomes increasingly difficult to stay top of mind with the public.” — Joshua Gwin of the Arkansas Blood Institute