They say the holidays are more about giving than receiving, but that’s especially true for blood donations. The Red Cross says this December marks another month of a short blood supply.
While not ideal, shortages of critical blood for transfusions are nothing new around the holiday season.
“This time of year, there generally is always, shall we say, a downturn in the number of blood donors," says Lynette Nyman, regional communications manager for the American Red Cross. "It’s not really their fault; we can’t really blame people. It’s a busy season. We’re all rushing to do various things for whatever holiday we celebrate.”
Nyman says it’s important to remember the value of giving this particular gift.
“A serious car accident victim might need 100 units to survive," Nyman said. "Many units are needed for a mom going through a difficult childbirth. These are things that happen all the time, so we just ask people to kind of pause and say hey, what is something I can do that’s a true give-back.”
For context, each donation pulls a single “unit” of blood. That means if that traumatic accident called for 100 units, that’s at least 50 double-arm donations minimum.
For Nyman, it highlights why everyone should consider donating if possible.
“This time of year, this could be a really fun thing to do with family," Nyman said. "What a great thing to say if your family is visiting, ‘hey, let’s make our appointment together and go have fun.’ They can take their picture and send it to us.”
Right now, the Red Cross says types O, A negative, and B negative are the most in-demand bloods from donors.