A Major Issue In The Blood Donations Amidst The Pandemic

Nikki Attkisson | Last Updated : October 23, 2020

Since the brief shutter in the spring at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, most health systems have returned to a certain sense of routine life.

One of the major challenges that are being faced is by the blood donation industry is the lack of donors. The people are scared of the donations and hence are not coming forward to donate blood. They are scared and confused about whether it is going to be safe or not. The pandemic has changed a lot of things, and now when life is coming back to normal, there are a lot of things that will not be the same. 

A Major Issue In The Blood Donations Amidst The Pandemic

Though it is considered safe to donate blood, the American Association said that the supply and demand had been affected to the core. People do not trust the authorities in making donations and hence keep away from this noble activity.

With a lot of methods tried and tested, the results are not turning out to be favorable at all. People are cared for and are not coming to the donation centers. No matter how much the disinfection drives are going on, it is still not safe, and you need to understand this. There are several strategies being made so that the condition improves. Not only this, but the doctors are urging people to understand the criticality of the situation and come forward to donate and consider it as their responsibility. If the blood supply will decrease, this is going to be a huge cause of concern for the authorities.

We agree that during the pandemic era, donors may have several worries, misleading confusion, and misleading rumors regarding blood donation. Furthermore, the arrangement of voluntary blood donation drives was negative because of government measures such as home refuge, mass lockout, and curtailment policies for public meetings. Likewise, public reluctance to attend the blood centres to donate blood was commonly articulated.

This led to a large reduction in the number of blood donors and stockpiles. In several countries worldwide, the occurrence of a decline in voluntary donations is noted.

The BTS donates donors to the charitable staff by telephone, allow them to travel to the Blood Collection centers or mobile collection centers independently on the basis of their choice, to align the blood collection with social distancing. Recently FDA reduced the blood donation delay from 12 months of sex abstinence to three months for men who had sex with men to tide over the “blood epidemic.”

We believe that blood donation will be improved by advocating for initiatives such as civic recognition and explanation of popular issues.

In addition, the welfare of both donors and employees should remain, throughout this phase, the focus of any BTS. It requires routine and consistent purification of donation stations, including contamination surfaces and the use of protective facial overlays by donors and the BTS workers.

But, according to a joint announcement made late last week by the AABB (formerly known as the American Association of Blood Banks), the American Red Cross, and the US-based blood centers, blood centers are also experiencing substantial reductions in their blood collection, leaving the availability of blood extremely poor in the United States.

COVID-19 has contributed to”unprecedented spikes” in blood supply and demand in connection with wildfires in Western states, the new hurricanes, and other hurricanes.

The American Red Cross receives more than 80% of its blood from blood findings that have not recovered to pre-pandemic levels while schools opt for immersive schooling, and people continue operating from home.

We can raise less, but demand hasrisen, and it was this great storm that formed, “said Kate Fry, CEO of theU.S. Blood Centres.

In Fall and Winter, donations havealways fallen. Still, Fry says the U.S. Blood Centers have seen a 30 percent reduction in blood circulation expected for the remainder of the year relative to last year – equal to nearly 250,000 missing donations. AABB’s chief physician Dr. Claudia Cohn said most centers and hospitals want to keep blood supply available for atleast 3 to 5 days.

But, according to Fry, a majority of centers are working on two days, others much less than this.”We were in a good position amonth or two ago … “But now it’s gone, we know that the blood supply constantly declines,” said Fry, who heard the message coming out (and a donation). “But now that energy is missing.”

Although COVID-19 stifles blood donors, it may also cause hospitals to need additional blood for severe disease patients with coronavirus who often need surgery when complications occur. Specifically, Lung transplants require large blood volumes, Cohn said.

“It’s an awful irony, isn’t it?”The U.S. Red Cross has said that approximately 40% of the country’s blood is obtained in the U.S. from an average of 13.6 million units of whole blood and red blood cells each year. Paul Sullivan, Senior Vice Presidentof the U.S. Red Cross Blood Services, said there were more than 50,000 canceled or transferred blood discs because of a pandemic that prompted over a million donors to find substitute contributions.

The American Red Cross has adopted new protective precautions, including wearing gloves, temperature sensors, sanitizer palms, increased disinfection, and bed spacing, to enforce the methods of social distancing, Sullivan said.

While most Americans prefer to operate from home, he urges businesses to arrange a blood drive for colleagues to visit during the pandemic in a healthy and meaningful way.

 Dr. Robertson Davenport, Michigan Methodology’s Director of Transfusion in Ann Arbor, said he was worried about the future as the U.S. Red Cross works hard in maintaining his facility.

“I know it sounds like I beatthe same old drum, but blood donors are encouraged to continue to donate more,” he said. He said.

We can only encourage them, but if they are not ready, then no one can force them. It is against the rules. All you can do is wait and let things settle down a bit so that the results turn out to be in a favorable condition.


Nikki Attkisson

With over 15 years as a practicing journalist, Nikki Attkisson found herself at Powdersville Post now after working at several other publications. She is an award-winning journalist with an entrepreneurial spirit and worked as a journalist covering technology, innovation, environmental issues, politics, health etc. Nikki Attkisson has also worked on product development, content strategy, and editorial management for numerous media companies. She began her career at local news stations and worked as a reporter in national newspapers.

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