REGIONAL
Wallowa.com
Wednesday, February 16, 2022
A17
National blood shortage felt regionally
By ALEX WITTWER
EO Media Group
EASTERN OREGON
— Blood doesn’t last long.
Platelets last only fi ve days,
according to the Ameri-
can Red Cross, while red
blood cells will last up to
42 days. Plasma can last up
to one year if frozen. Nor
can blood be manufactured;
the supply of blood relies
entirely on donors rolling
up their sleeves.
The American Red
Cross, which held a nation-
wide blood drive in Janu-
ary including several blood
donation stations in East-
ern Oregon, reports it is fac-
ing a blood crisis. The orga-
nization’s website stated
its blood supply is at the
lowest levels in more than
a decade. The alarm was
sounded last month during
National Blood Donor
month.
“While some types of
medical care can wait, oth-
ers can’t,” said Dr. Pampee
Young, chief medical offi cer
of the Red Cross. “Hospitals
are still seeing accident vic-
tims, cancer patients, those
with blood disorders, like
sickle cell disease, and indi-
viduals who are seriously ill
who all need blood transfu-
sions to live even as omi-
cron cases surge across the
country. We’re doing every-
thing we can to increase
blood donations to ensure
every patient can receive
medical treatments without
delay. We cannot do it with-
out more donors. We need
the help of the American
people.”
Local hospitals
react to shortage
The national blood short-
age has hit uneven ground
in Eastern Oregon, with
area hospitals reporting
their blood supply falling
below critical levels.
Most hospitals are han-
dling it well, given the cir-
cumstances, while oth-
ers have begun to feel the
eff ects. Most blood that is
donated goes to local hos-
pitals, according to Caitlin
Cozad, marking and com-
munications director for
Good Shepherd Health Care
System, Hermiston.
“Community support of
American Red Cross blood
drives is essential to return
our blood supply to pre-
COVID minimum stocking
numbers,” she said. “We
especially need O-nega-
tive donors. This is one way
you can serve your commu-
nity and help ensure a sta-
ble blood supply for local
hospitals.”
It is unclear to what
degree the pandemic has
aff ected the amount of blood
donations. Some areas, such
as La Grande and Baker
City, have experienced an
uptick in donations this
year in comparison to other
areas in the region. Still, the
American Red Cross noted
that nationwide blood dona-
tions have gone down 10%
since the beginning of the
pandemic.
“We have experienced
critical blood supply issues
in the past months. We have
had no units of O-negative
on the shelf two times and
zero O-positive one time,”
said Ronda Reisdorph,
a laboratory manager at
Hermiston’s Good Shep-
herd Medical Center. “We
have been running with less
than minimum thresholds in
the past few months and no
chance for restocking even
with emergent cases.”
While the medical cen-
ter expects to receive an
increased supply over the
coming weeks to supple-
ment its stockpile due,
there’s no indication that the
national blood shortage will
improve in the near future.
The American Red Cross
supplies
approximately
40% of the nation’s blood
supply, according to the
organization, and some hos-
pitals might receive as little
Alex Wittwer/EO Media Group
Jake Yoste, a phlebotomy technician with the American
Red Cross, explains the blood donation process to Elena
Nightingale at the community blood drive at The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in La Grande on Tuesday,
Jan. 25, 2022.
as 25% of their requested
blood supplies in the com-
ing weeks. Hospitals nor-
mally keep a steady supply
of blood for routine proce-
dures but can request more
in the event of a mass casu-
alty or injury event.
Since much of the blood
that arrives in hospitals
comes from the arms of
local community members,
due to the large turnout for
Union County blood drives,
some local hospitals have
fared better in the national
crisis.
Mardi Ford, director of
communications at Grande
Ronde Hospital, La Grande,
credited the work of hus-
band and wife duo Linda
and Sheldon Strand, who
run La Grande’s American
Red Cross blood drives,
as a key factor in ensuring
Grande Ronde Hospital has
an adequate blood supply.
Ford said the hospital works
closely with the American
Red Cross and has an inter-
nal system that is used to
track blood supply levels.
Ford said the hospital
has only had a couple of
instances in the past few
years where blood supplies
reached critical levels.
“We are proactive in
making sure that we have
what we need to serve our
patients,” she said. “That’s
one of the beauties of being
small and independent. We
have options on how we’re
able to do things.”
Wallowa Memorial Hos-
pital, Enterprise, recently
received shipments where
the requested blood supply
was not provided.
“Fortunately, we work
with the Red Cross on a
blood rotation to keep us at
optimal levels and have held
on to a supply of the shorted
products,” said Brooke
Pace, director of communi-
cations and public relations.
“We do this to ensure that
nothing is wasted because
of outdating. We can still
transfer units to regional
hospitals in our area if dat-
ing becomes a concern.”
Stefanie Davidson, Wal-
lowa Memorial Hospital’s
lab director, urged resi-
dents to donate blood amid
the growing national short-
age, even as local supplies
remain steady.
“Even though we still
have an above critical sup-
ply, the national shortage
is a concern, and we would
like to encourage any-
one who can to get out and
donate,” she said.
Pendleton’s CHI St.
Anthony Hospital fared bet-
ter than other hospitals in
the region, according to the
hospital’s president, Harold
Geller, who noted the hospi-
tal was well stocked.
“There is always a con-
cern, pandemic or not,”
he said. “We here at St.
Anthony have taken steps
to be prepared as best as
possible.”
Even still, the hospi-
tal president did not mince
words about the national
shortage.
“Please donate blood,”
he said. “Now.”
Than up k p y o o rt u ing
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