On Sept. 27, the Red Cross declared a national blood shortage. Since the blood supply dropped by nearly 25% since early August, the Red Cross is requesting more blood donors.

Many different events added up to create the current national blood shortage. One of these factors is climate disasters. The arrival of Hurricane Idalia and its widespread effects of flooding, power outages and travel hazards canceled many drives scheduled in the Southeast.

Additionally, travel season in the summer impacts the national blood supply. The Red Cross has noted this season to be one of the busiest travel seasons on record. This, combined with back-to-school activities, has decreased the amount of blood donors tremendously. 

Post-pandemic “normal” has also had an effect on the sources of the nation’s blood supply. High schools and universities used to account for the largest population of yearly blood donations, but this was upended as schools adopted remote learning models.

Senior Rupika Jai Ganesh, member of Spartan Assembly, provided more information on the difficulties involved with setting up blood drives at Pleasant Valley High School. “Spartan Assembly schedules blood drives based on the availability of those at the blood center so unless they are available at an earlier date, we wouldn’t be able to have one on an earlier date,” Ganesh stated. 

With high schools and universities no longer having the ability to donate as much blood as they formerly did, there is a danger posed to those in need of blood.

There are many patients who need blood to fight their condition, and if the blood supply isn’t restored, they will not be able to receive the treatment they need to survive. Most notably are those going through chemo-therapy. Approximately ⅔ of children with cancer will require a blood transfusion at some point. 

Patients with sickle cell anemia, chronic blood loss or severe liver disease are also examples of those in need of blood.

To combat this shortage, blood donation centers have been set up all over the country. Potential donors can find these locations off the Red Cross website.

Pleasant Valley’s Spartan Assembly has created a recent change in hopes of increasing the amount donated at the school. “Blood drives are during the school day this year from 9am-1:30pm on Wednesday Nov 8 and Wednesday Feb 7. We are hoping that this pushes more people to donate since it’s not taking extra time out of their day as they are already at school,” Ganesh commented.

In light of this shortage, senior Landon Asta felt more inclined to donate blood. “I didn’t really know that we had a blood shortage nor did I know all the people that could be affected. After hearing about this I think I will definitely donate some blood, especially because I can now donate blood during the school day,” he stated.

The Red Cross is providing incentives in hopes of getting more people to donate blood. The incentives include a free haircut through Sports Clips, a free Red Cross t-shirt and a chance to win a VIP NASCAR race experience. 

Fortunately, there has been an increase in donations since the Red Cross declared a national blood shortage. With the world getting back into a normal routine, this shortage should be replenished soon.