As we learned in the Friday, Sept. 20, edition of the Butler Eagle, two national organizations have warned about lower than normal stocks of blood.

In August, the Red Cross said there had been a shortfall of more than 19,000 blood donations in July. Vitalant said in July its nationwide blood supply had hit an 18-month low.

Those are worrying numbers, and Dr. Allan Philp, trauma surgeon and chief medical officer at Allegheny General Hospital, pointed out this is a trend that has been happening for several years.

During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic blood donations were halted. The blood supply still hasn’t truly recovered, he said.

In part it has to do with modern surgery.

“Anything surgical, we've become a victim of our own success, where we're able to do a lot of things minimally invasively,” he said. “We sometimes have more bleeding than anticipated.”

At Butler Memorial Hospital, pharmacist Matthew Schnur, vice president of ancillary services, said there isn’t a shortage and Independence Health System works to augment its supply with regular blood drives.

Such drives are key to maintaining a healthy local blood supply and are a way nearly everyone can help. And help is always needed, because even when there isn’t a shortage, blood products have a short shelf life.

According to figures from the Red Cross, donated blood can only be stored for 42 days. That means there is constantly a need for more.

In particular, Type-O blood is needed, because it can be transfused into nearly any patient.

To find a blood drive near you, visit redcrossblood.org or donors.vitalant.org. Your donation could save a life.

— JK