MVSKOKE RESERVATION – As the annual Tribal Blood Drive Challenge comes to an end, Our Blood Institute, which provides blood to all of Oklahoma and parts of Arkansas and Texas, is reporting a critical shortage of blood.
According to a statement released by OBI, their supply has dropped to roughly 2,200 units of blood, compared to approximately 5,200 units at this time last year, a drop of almost 60%. According to Susan Addison, the Director of Donor Recruitment, OBI is reporting shortages of platelets and O-Positive and O-Negative blood.
In addition, Addison says the number of accidents and injuries over the holidays has outpaced their ability to collect, leading to an even greater shortage.
“On a good day, we only have a 3-day blood supply. This time of year, we get really nervous about winter weather and cold & flu season, and actually, what’s putting us into an emergency right now is very high usage,” Addison said. “Over the holidays, there were a lot of accidents and emergencies that required a lot of blood, and it’s outpacing our ability to collect right now.”
“We know some difficulties are in the weeks ahead, because we haven’t had our winter weather yet, and we haven’t had our big hit of cold & flu yet, which usually impacts the blood supply for a week to two weeks at a time.”
According to Addison, the shortage has gotten so severe that it has led to the need to import units of blood from other areas, such as a recent import of around 400 units from the East Coast. Addison also notes that if donors do not step up, hospitals could be strained even further.
“So, as I said, we only have around a 3-day blood supply, so those impacts of cold, flu, and winter weather are going to be felt very quickly. We’re starting to get to the point that if donors don’t come out now and help get us replenished, the next hurdle is going to be patients and doctors having to have conversations about, for example, ‘You need a blood transfusion, but you’re going to have to wait, and I don’t know how much time you have,'” Addison added.
Addison underscored how beneficial donating blood can be, and how much good even a single donation can do, let alone multiple donations.
“Our theme for January is ‘Give Hope’. We’re reminding people that blood donation is a selfless act for someone you don’t know who’s likely having the worst day of their life, and you are giving them hope that they have a chance to heal and recover from whatever is putting them in that hospital. I don’t think there’s any greater hope than to impact someone that way.” Addison said.
An average of 1 in 7 hospital admissions will use blood, and even if it doesn’t get used, it will still be on standby for a wide variety of procedures, whether it’s safely delivering a baby, going in for surgery, or even receiving treatment for cancer.
“I don’t think people realize how important that blood supply is to the health and well-being of themselves and their communities until we end up in situations like this,” Addison said. “It’s all of our responsibilities to take care of one another and support our community, and it’s as simple as people donating blood twice a year to make sure that we have enough.”
“You can donate whole blood up to 6 times a year, once every 56 days to be precise, so when you look at it that way, you can’t help but be like ‘Well, why aren’t more people doing it?’”
To contact OBI to schedule an appointment or ask questions about your blood donation, call 877-340-8777 or email customerservice@obi.org. Upcoming events, such as blood drives at the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith on Jan. 21-23 and at NSU Tahlequah on Jan. 26-28, can be found at https://ourbloodinstitute.org/events/.
