1/23/2023
Timothy Chapman
Vitalant Blood Donation is reporting a nationwide blood shortage due to low numbers of people donating.
Donor Recruitment Manager for Vitalant RGV Ali Arredondo said Vitalant used to receive record numbers of over 20,000 products of blood every month, however the number is down to 8,000 with the biggest reason for the decrease being restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Covid is actually what impacted the blood shortage, to start in the first place. We weren’t allowed to go into high schools, a lot of businesses shut down. Hospitals were very particular as to who they would let into the hospitals as well. So going out, networking and kind of recruiting donors was very tough for us during that time,” Arredondo said.
He said 70% of the Rio Grande Valley can donate blood, but only 3% does.
“We need as many donors as possible, if you’re thinking about it or have thought about it, definitely sacrifice saving lives for our patients who need it. So we ask everybody and we invite everybody to go out and donate,” Arredondo said.
Certified General Surgeon at UT Health RGV Dr. Vijian Dhevan said there has been years worth of research and advancements in health to find alternatives for supplying people who need a blood transfusion, but in the end none of the substitutes have shown better results than using blood itself.
“Our data shows if you replace blood with blood then the patient has better outcomes, and that algorithm has kind of gone back and forth over the last twenty years. At one point in time people thought, ‘No, no. We don’t have to give blood, we can just give crystalloids, which is IV fluids, but we’ve come full circle now we think if the patient has lost blood , give them blood,” Dhevan said.
He wants to assure people who may consider becoming a donor that despite the misconceptions on any risks that come with donating blood, it is a simple, selfless act someone can do for those in need.
“Donating blood is fairly straightforward, you’re not going to lose all your volume, they’re not going to drain off all your blood. When you go donate blood, you’ll donate, they’ll take a pint, usually they’ll make you sit down, they’ll give you some juice and then some cookies to eat to make sure you’re okay. And then you go about your business. Your body will make blood, your body continuously makes blood,”
According to Donor Recruitment Manager for Vitalant RGV Ali Arredondo the UTRGV Edinburg campus will be having blood drives from March 1-2 at 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Health and Physical Education building.
To learn more about how you can donate blood and how to schedule an appointment you can visit www.vitalant.org
