A national and state-wide blood shortage has developed during the COVID-19 health crisis as more and more people are staying home and not going to the blood bank. To maintain the supply, blood collections must continue even as mobile blood drives are forced to cancel across the state.
Bloodworks Northwest, a non-profit blood bank that contributes to 90 northwest hospitals, was forced to cancel all its mobile blood drives this month to ensure the safety of its workers and those who attended, Vick Finson, vice president of blood services, said.
Workers would not have been able to maintain the social distancing measures put in place by the state as they were driving to and from mobile banks or between donors in some locations.
Three Jefferson County blood drives were canceled as a result, at the Elks Lodge, the Community Methodist Church and the Port Ludlow Community Church.
Potential donors are now asked to continue donating blood by appointment at permanent blood centers. The closest Bloodworks NW center to Jefferson County is in Silverdale at 3230 NW Randall Way. Appointments can be made through Bloodworks NW’s website at bloodworksnw.org.
Donating blood is exempt from the governor’s “stay home, stay healthy” order and encouraged by the state.
Finson said 60% of their donations usually came from mobile drives and, after a shortage this month, levels are returning closer to normal as more people are making appointments at blood centers.
She said it might be because people are looking for something to do and some way to help. Donating blood is the perfect activity for this, she said, because it only takes about an hour and it may save a life.
The Federal Food and Drug administration also relaxed rules last week about who can and cannot donate blood. Finson said these changes are in line with what blood centers have been advocating for years, and she hopes they will increase donations. Deferral periods have been reduced to three months for people who have recently gotten tattoos or piercings, as well as for gay or bisexual men and woman who have had gay or bixsexual male partners.
It is yet unknown how many COVID-19 patients will require blood transfusions, if at all, Finson said, but an extended ICU stay, which many critically ill COVID-19 patients will need, will usually require one.
Blood is needed for continued emergency services. Elective surgeries across the state have been canceled. Because blood has a shelf life, banks must continue getting donations to have blood on hand when it’s needed.
When blood is donated, at a mobile drive or a blood center, it is then transported to a Bloodworks NW facility in Renton where it is processed and eventually sent to the hospitals where it is most needed.
Blood levels at Jefferson Healthcare are at “green and yellow levels,” Amy Yaley, public relations director, said. This means they are stable with historic periodic replacement levels.
Blood drives at Jefferson Healthcare have also been canceled in April with hopes to resume in May.
Bloodworks NW hopes to increase donations outside of blood banks by setting up “pop up centers.” These are essentially mobile clinics that have a semi-permanent home for four to six weeks instead of one day. They are looking for locations that are not being used for anything else where they can set up equipment and leave it there to be open for donations three or four days a week.
Members of the public who have potential locations for pop-up centers are encouraged to contact Bloodworks NW.
