Blood donors are needed now more than ever as the Red Cross is facing an emergency shortage.

The American Red Cross has declared an emergency blood shortage, saying patients are at risk of not getting lifesaving transfusions.

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Donors are needed now more than ever as the Red Cross faces a national emergency shortage, with the number of donors at a 20-year low. Medical director Dr. Eric Gehrie says the Red Cross has experienced a loss of 300,000 donors since the COVID-19 pandemic alone.

“It means that hospitals will order a certain number of units of blood, and those orders are not being filled fully,” he said. “So hospital blood banks are low on blood.”

Gehrie says the Red Cross supplies about 40% of the nation’s blood supply. He says emptier shelves could force hospitals to make excruciating decisions about which patients are prioritized for blood.

“Doctors have to make choices about which patients can receive a transfusion in a given day,” he says. “Surgeries like heart can be delayed waiting for the available blood to be collected and sent to the hospital.”

    • I_Fart_Glitter@lemmy.world
      7·
      11 months ago

      I don’t know if all orgs changed or just the one I go to (Vitalent) but they don’t ask gendered sex questions anymore. I think was as of 2023. Just “Have you had a new partner in the last three months,” “have you exchanged money or drugs for sex in the last three months” and “Have you had sex with more than one partner in the last three months.”

      • LemmyKnowsBest@lemmy.world
        6·
        11 months ago

        I was surprised the last time I went to donate blood at Red Cross in 2021, they asked me none of those personal questions. Let me reemphasize how surprised I was about that.

  • Norgur@kbin.social
    20·
    11 months ago

    That’s what happens when ppl are sucked dry by capitalism already!

    Yeah, I’ll show myself out

  • afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world
    102·
    11 months ago

    Everyone is sick and donation has become increasingly more difficult. I have been actively donating since 2017 and it is longer process, with less spots open, with more paperwork.

    Enshitification or the anti-industrial revolution or cost disease whatever you want to call it. Used to be a few minutes of waiting, 20 minutes of pumping, and you could go any time over a daily 12 hour window.

    • shottymcb@lemm.ee
      3·
      11 months ago

      Pretty easy here. Climbed onto a bus in the Walmart parking lot, filled out about 10 minutes of paperwork which you only need to do the first time and then there was a needle in my arm. 20 minutes later I had a cookie and some juice and an amazon gift card.

  • Lenny@lemmy.world
    61·
    11 months ago

    I’d give mine but apparently I was British during the mad cow era so they refuse it.

  • ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de
    1·
    11 months ago

    Red cross charges hospitals $150 a pint for the blood you donate for free/almost free. That covers overhead, for the most part.

    The hospitals in turn completely fuck over anyone who needs that blood they got for $150 by charging around $1,500 a pint.

    I’m not donating until I either get paid for my blood, or hospitals charge more like $300.

    Whenever there’s a blood supply issue they stop elective surgeries. Well that’s big business right there, and they could fix it in an instant if they start paying people a fair amount for their blood, and they’d do it if it wasn’t being donated enough.