American Red Cross encourages blood drive sign-ups after holiday season shortage

Officials with the American Red Cross are reporting the lowest number of blood donors nationwide in 20 years following a 7,000-unit shortfall in blood donations between Christmas and New Year’s Day.

Blood products are currently going to hospitals faster than blood donations are coming in, and in recent weeks, the Red Cross has had to limit the distribution of type O blood, among the most transfused blood types, Red Cross officials said in a press release. The Red Cross will be holding several blood drives in Northwest Montana in the coming weeks.

American Red Cross Regional Communications Director Matt Ochsner said the organization provides blood supplies to Clark Fork Valley Hospital in Plains, St. Joseph Hospital in Polson and St. Luke Community Health Care in Ronan. 

This nationwide shortage is slightly more severe than others in recent memory, Ochsner said. 

“We're really encouraging folks to come out. We just don't want to be in a situation where hospitals don't have the blood products they need and patient care is impacted,” Ochsner said. 

This time of year it can be difficult to donate blood for various reasons: sometimes blood drives get canceled, seasonal illnesses keep people at home and sometimes travel is impacted by winter weather, he said. 

“But the need for blood remains constant,” Ochsner said. “Every two seconds somebody in this country needs a life saving blood transfusion.” 

Those interested in donating to the Red Cross can sign-up at www.redcross.org by typing in their zip code. A full list of upcoming drives are listed below. 

Logan Health Senior Marketing Coordinator Chris Leopold said the health care system partners with Vitalant for its blood services. While their supply is not critically low at this time, he said there is always a need for additional donors. The hospital system goes through a lot of blood on a regular basis.

“Vitalant has done a great job in proactively supplying Logan Health’s facilities with the necessary blood supply in anticipation of the holiday season shortage and we are incredibly thankful for them and all the wonderful donors in the Flathead Valley,” Leopold said in an email.

Referring to statistics from the Logan Health Medical Center laboratory in Kalispell, Leopold said blood components are used daily at the hospital. He said the facility stocks an inventory of about 160 red blood cell units, or RBC units, of various blood types, and helps keep Logan Health affiliates on the Hi-Line stocked up. The hospital keeps more stock of O positive and A positive blood, keeping 10-20 units of the universal blood type O negative on hand for emergencies. 

Last year, Logan Health Medical Center in Kalispell transfused more than 3,000 red blood cell units, about 300 milliliters each, 632 plasma units, 588 platelet units and 93 units of pooled cryoprecipitate, he said.  

Patients who experience blood loss due to trauma, surgical patients, oncology patients who can’t make their own red blood cells or platelets and obstetrics patients are just a few examples of people who receive blood at the hospital, Leopold said.   

Leopold said Vitalant is hosting two upcoming blood drives at Logan Health in Kalispell and Whitefish. The first drive takes place on Jan. 30 in the Paintbrush Room at Logan Health Medical Center in Kalispell, beginning at 8 a.m. The second drive will be at Logan Health-Whitefish in the conference room, beginning at 9 a.m. 

Anyone interested can sign-up at Vitalant.org or can reach out to Logan Health’s Community Relations Coordinator Lori Alsbury at lalsbury@logan.org.

Upcoming local Red Cross blood donation opportunities through Jan. 31:

Bigfork

1/17/2024: 11 a.m. - 5:30 p.m., Pope John Paul II Catholic Church, 195 Coverdell

Kalispell

1/15/2024: 1 p.m. - 6 p.m., Trinity Lutheran Church, 400 W. California St.

1/19/2024: 11 a.m. - 4 p.m., Homewood Suites, 195 Hutton Ranch Road

1/23/2024: 12 p.m. - 5 p.m., Family Life Christian Church, 1075 Foy’s Lake Road

1/24/2024: 10:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., Kalispell Elks Lodge, 139 First Ave. W.

1/26/2024: 11 a.m. - 4 p.m., Buffalo Hill Terrace, 40 Claremont St.

1/30/2024: 9:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m., U.S. Forest Service Offices, 650 Wolfpack Way

West Glacier

1/25/2024: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m., Glacier National Park Community Building, GNP Headquarters, 162 Mather Drive

Whitefish

1/18/2024: 11 a.m. - 5:30 p.m., The Wave, 1250 Baker Ave.

1/31/2024: 11 a.m. - 3:45 p.m., The Springs at Whitefish, 1001 River Lakes Parkway

Reporter Taylor Inman can be reached at 406-758-4433 or by emailing tinman@dailyinterlake.com.