Blood supply problem has hospitals scrambling

Summer downtime could worsen blood shortages, the Red Cross says.
By WILLIAM K. ALCORN
VINDICATOR HEALTH WRITER
The monthlong Red Cross blood emergency, expected to get worse during the summer, has not caused area hospitals to cancel or postpone elective surgeries.
Not yet.
But blood-bank managers at Humility of Mary Health Partners and Forum Health say it is a daily juggling act to keep the needed blood on hand.
One operation that uses more blood than anticipated, or multiple victims from a serious traffic crash, can send blood-bank managers, who stock according to past need levels, scrambling to find extra blood products.
And recently, the American Red Cross Northern Ohio Blood Services Region, which serves Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties, had issued a "transfuse-only" directive for certain blood types. The order meant hospitals could not stockpile blood components of those types and could order blood only for specific needs. The directive was lifted Wednesday, but severe shortages continue, officials said.
Pennsylvania's status
A blood emergency has also been declared in northwest Pennsylvania, where hospitals in Mercer and Lawrence counties are supplied by the Red Cross Greater Alleghenies Blood Region.
Jennifer Mansfield, a spokeswoman for Greater Alleghenies in Johnstown, Pa., said there is no "transfuse only" directive, but hospital orders are being scaled back to about 70 percent of what they request.
"We certainly recognize there is a severe blood shortage. We have about half of the supply we normally have on hand," said Ed Newmeyer, director of marketing and community relations at Sharon Regional Hospital.
But Sharon Regional has not had to cancel any surgeries, he said.
"What we have done is ask our physicians to closely evaluate their elective use of blood," he said.
Borrowing time
When the Red Cross, the area hospitals' primary source of blood and blood products, runs short of blood, both the hospitals and the Red Cross turn to alternative sources. They borrow from other hospitals, other Red Cross regions, or other blood-collection agencies around the country.
But even that doesn't work as well as it once did because the shortage is nationwide, Red Cross officials say. And this summer, with students out of school and other donors traveling and less likely to give, the problem is expected to worsen.
Forum Health has not had to postpone or reschedule any surgeries. But that could change at any time, said Patricia Strohm, a medical technologist and longtime blood-bank manager there.
"It's not just a question of the general supply; it's also a question of a person's blood type," she said.
"So far, we have had a couple of bad cases that put us on edge -- one patient took 36 units -- but the Red Cross was able to come through," Strohm said.
St. Elizabeth, Trumbull Memorial, St. Joseph and Northside all work together, Strohm said.
"We have to get along. If I've got a product they absolutely need, they get it, and vice versa," she said.
HMHP has never had to cancel surgeries because of a blood shortage, blood-bank manager Suzanne Rinehart said.
"But it's sometimes difficult, and we have to turn to alternative sources," including Pittsburgh's Central Blood Bank, a hospital-based program, Rinehart said.
Own donor program
In addition, she said HMHP has its own volunteer donor program, which it is actively promoting.
"It drew over 100 donors after 9/11, and has collected about 1,000 units since August 2002," she said.
HMHP decided to develop its own donor base so it would be less dependent on other sources, she said.
"We certainly support the Red Cross and its drive. But our own program helps us augment the blood supply and take care of ourselves," said Rinehart, a medical technologist with a specialty in blood banking who has been in the business for 30 years.
"We don't want to be in competition with Red Cross. We think of the blood supply as a community resource, and help when it's necessary," she said.
Sharon Regional collected its own blood years ago, but there has been no discussion of going back to that system.
"The Red Cross does that very efficiently. We are very satisfied with them," Newmeyer said.
Payment for donations?
Despite the dearth of volunteer blood donors, none of the hospital representatives contacted thought it would be a good idea to pay people for their blood.
The American Association of Blood Banks has discussed it, Strohm said.
"We had paid donors in the late 1960s-early 1970s, but went away from it, feeling people might not tell the truth because of the money involved" and endanger the blood supply, she said.
"I certainly would not suggest we pay donors. The safety of the blood supply is maintained by people giving for altruistic reasons," Rinehart said.
Instead, they think the answer to the blood shortage is an educational effort with the general public. But they acknowledge the constant challenge.
"Maybe people feel blood is always going to be there. We hope people recognize that they are the only source for blood, and respond. They are where we need to get blood. It can't come from anywhere else," Newmeyer said.
"We try to convince the public that we're not wasting it. We conserve it. We treat as many persons as possible with each unit donated," Strohm said.
"We just have to get the word out. If even 5 percent of the population would donate regularly, we wouldn't have a problem," Rinehart said.
As for those who do donate, she said: "God love 'em. Where would this world be without them?"