Winter 2015 Weather Affects Blood Supply

By Elliott Bennett-Guerrero

Introduction

A tenured professor of anesthesiology, Dr. Elliott Bennett-Guerrero has published and presented extensively on best practices in blood transfusion. Dr. Elliott Bennett-Guerrero also serves as director of perioperative clinical research at the Duke Clinical Research Institute, where he closely monitors nationwide blood supplies.

In the winter of 2015, storms canceled schools and special events across the country. Many of these special events were American Red Cross blood donation drives, which serve an essential role in providing blood for patients across the country in need of transfusions.

Blood Supply

Red Cross authorities have expressed concern at the volume of blood that has gone uncollected, largely because the opportunity to host school-based blood drives is limited by the length of the academic year.

In January alone, weather across the country canceled more than 200 drives and left hospitals with 7,500 fewer units than they would have had. The trend continued in February, when more than 300 drives did not happen. The Red Cross is responding by looking into new drive host sites while expanding its marketing efforts to attract new donors.