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The American Red Cross says there is a national blood emergency because of a big drop in donations. NPR health correspondent Rob Stein reports.
ROB STEIN, BYLINE: The Red Cross says there's an urgent need for more people to roll up their sleeves and donate blood. Dr. Courtney Lawrence is a medical officer at the Red Cross.
COURTNEY LAWRENCE: The blood supply fell nearly 25% during the month of June, so we're letting blood donors know that they're urgently needed to give now so that helps ensure that patients are going to receive the lifesaving medical care that they need in the hospitals without delay.
STEIN: Now, a drop in blood donations is not unusual at this time of year.
LAWRENCE: Summertime, we tend to see that people oftentimes get quite busy. They're outside of their common routines. They may be traveling on vacation. So even some of our regular blood donors take time off.
STEIN: At the same time, blood drives at schools and colleges are on hiatus. All that tends to coincide with the jump in the need for blood. More people are biking, hiking, boating and doing other activities that can cause injuries requiring transfusions.
LAWRENCE: I have a lot of friends and relatives who are motorcycle enthusiasts, and so during the wintertime, when it's cold and less comfortable, they're not out on the roadways. But this time of year, they're often going out to enjoy the nice weather outside, and we see higher traffic patterns as people are moving from one place to another for vacation. And so that can be a setup for increased motor vehicle accidents.
STEIN: And this year, all that's been compounded by an influx of people in many parts of the country because of popular events like the World Cup games. The Red Cross says there's currently a deficit of about 3,500 units of blood each week that could force some hospitals to do things like delay elective procedures. All types of blood are needed, but the Red Cross says the current shortage is especially serious for blood types O and B negative.
Rob Stein, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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