Blood banks that serve the Inland Empire say they have dangerously low supplies, with less than a day’s worth of blood left at some banks across the region.
The area is facing a shortage because there are fewer donors and collection drives due to the coronavirus pandemic, officials said. Many people have delayed giving blood amid the delta variant surge and the return to workplaces and schools. they said.
But officials said the severe shortage, seen by LifeStream Blood Bank, the American Red Cross and the Southern California Blood Bank, puts those in need of transfusions, surgeries and other operations at serious risk.
The San Bernardino-based LifeStream, which provides blood to more than 80 hospitals in Southern California, has less than a day’s supply left of the O and A blood types, a news release states. The bank also has a little over one day’s supply of B positive and B negative blood.
“With high schools opening in September, we expected our high school blood drives to resume to full capacity,” Dr. Rick Axelrod, LifeStream’s president and CEO, said in a statement. “Unfortunately, this has not happened and 30 percent of schools have canceled drives because either they wanted to focus on student education without interruption, had COVID-19 concerns, or had a small COVID-19 outbreak.”
Axelrod said banks “need members of the Inland Empire community to help offset this loss by donating ASAP at one of our donor centers or community blood drives.”
The American Red Cross reported a 10% decrease in donors nationwide as coronavirus cases spiked in August, a news release states. The Red Cross’ national blood inventory is the lowest it’s been at this time of the year since 2015, with less than a day’s supply of some blood types in recent weeks. O positive and O negative blood types — the types most needed by hospitals — dropped to less than a half day’s supply several times over the past month.
The national blood bank must collect 10,000 additional blood products each week over the next month to recover its supply and meet growing demand, the release said.
“Fall is typically a time when the blood supply rebounds as donors are more available to give than during the busy summer months, but this year has presented a unique and serious challenge,” Dr. Pampee Young, chief medical officer for the Red Cross, said in the release. “While it’s clear the pandemic continues to weigh heavily on our minds, the Red Cross asks the public to remember donating blood and platelets is essential to the many patients that rely on lifesaving transfusions every day.”
The Southern California Blood Bank, which operates several mobile drives and donor centers in southwest Riverside County, has about three days or less worth of its supply left, spokesperson Claudine Van Gonka said Tuesday, Sept. 28. The bank likes to keep at least a seven-day minimum on the shelves.
Van Gonka said the rise of the delta variant has caused the San Diego-based blood bank to cancel more than 50 of its drives since the beginning of August.
“About 20% of our blood supply comes from local high school and college drives,” Van Gonka said, adding that many of these have not yet resumed, or are off to a slow start.
Many of the Inland blood banks are offering incentives while supplies last — such as gift cards, free mini-physicals, giveaway socks and shirts — for those who donate.
Inland blood banks, drives
LifeStream Blood Bank
Information and appointments: LStream.org, 1-800-TRY GIVING (879-4484)
Drives
- Corona: Corona Friends Church, 1220 W. Ontario Ave., Saturday, Oct. 2, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Perris: Orange Empire Railway Museum, 2201 South A St., Saturday, Oct 2, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Riverside: Magnolia Church, 8351 Magnolia Ave., Sunday, Oct. 3, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Hemet: Regal Theater, 2369 W. Florida Ave., Sunday, Oct 3, 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
- San Bernardino: LifeStream donor center: 384 W. Orange Show Road, 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday; 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday; 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Thursday; 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.
American Red Cross
Information and blood drives: redcrossblood.org, 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767)
- Moreno Valley: American Legion Post 574, 13876 Old 215 Frontage Road, Thursday, Sept. 30, 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.
- Murrieta: Rancho Springs Medical Center, 25520 Medical Drive, Friday, Oct. 1, 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
- Yucaipa: Saint Frances X Cabrini, 12687 California St., Sunday, Oct. 3, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Canyon Lake: Canyon Lake Golf & Country Club, 32001 Railroad Canyon Road, Monday, Oct. 11, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Pomona: Pomona Blood Donation Center, 100 Red Cross Circle, open 7 days a week
Southern California Blood Bank
Information and appointments: scbloodbank.org, 1-800-469-7322
- Temecula: Promenade Temecula mall, in front of Edwards Theater, 40820 Winchester Road, Thursday, Sept. 30, 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
- Murrieta: Murrieta Mesa High School mobile drive, 24801 Monroe Ave., Wednesday, Oct. 6, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Temecula: Milgard Windows parking lot, 26879 Diaz Road, Friday, Oct 8, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Lake Elsinore: Lakeside High School gym, 32593 Riverside Drive, Friday, Oct. 15, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
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September 30, 2021 at 02:04AM
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Severe blood shortage has Inland Empire banks seeking donations - San Bernardino County Sun
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