- cross-posted to:
- health@lemmy.world
- cross-posted to:
- health@lemmy.world
The American Red Cross has declared an emergency blood shortage, saying patients are at risk of not getting lifesaving transfusions.
…
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.”
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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.”
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.
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That’s what happens when ppl are sucked dry by capitalism already!
Yeah, I’ll show myself out
Nice try vampires, keep your cookies and watery oj
Socialize production but privatize profits.
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.
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.
I’ve been donating plasma for like 60$/800ml, does donating blood pay anything?
Legally it cannot here in the US. After it is collected they are fine selling it.
Which I find dystopian & infuriating.
I’d give mine but apparently I was British during the mad cow era so they refuse it.
I’m not sure if that restriction is still in place. At least in my situation, I was in Europe during the 80s for a few years on a naval base and was restricted from donating blood for the longest time. Apparently at some point that ban was lifted by the FDA and your Mad Cow blood is good enough to donate now:
Good to know! I was born there and lived there for 25 years, but I’m naturalized here now. I’ll check back in and see if I qualify now, that’d be cool because I have an uncommon blood type.
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.
