Today, Jan. 11, the American Red Cross declared a national blood crisis for the first time. To help fill the crucial need, community members can donate blood at one of the twice-weekly American Red Cross blood drives across several different Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) locations. Learn more and sign up here.
Nationwide blood shortages have been a problem since the beginning of the pandemic—and the supply is dangerously low now. The most recent COVID-19 surge has again limited the number of healthy people who can donate blood, either due to illness or to necessary quarantining procedures. Staffing shortages are also an issue as COVID-19 continues to affect health care workers. Blood centers across the United States have reported less than a one-day supply of some blood types.
“VUMC needs a constant supply of blood to take care of our patients, including solid organ transplant recipients, our patients with cancer, mothers delivering babies who have unexpected hemorrhages, and, of course, as we serve the community as its only level I trauma center,” said Jennifer Andrews, MD, MSc, associate professor of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology (Division of Transfusion Medicine) and Pediatrics (Division of Hematology/Oncology) and medical director of the Blood Bank.