Delmarva Blood Bank announces regional blood shortage

DELMARVA– Blood Bank of Delmarva announced Monday a blood shortage in the region and called on donors to sign up for appointments at its local donor centers or pop-up locations.

BBD said the state of the local blood supply mirrors the current shortage across the nation. Before COVID-19, donors could stop by community blood drives at convenient locations like high schools, colleges, and offices. It has been over a year since these groups had to cancel their blood drives due to COVID-19 and few have been able to resume these life-saving events.

BBD currently has a 3.7-day supply of blood currently available for distribution, which is well below the 7-day supply needed by area hospitals. The region’s healthcare system requires 350 to 380 people to donate each day to treat patients ranging from trauma victims to newborn babies and their mothers to cancer patients. Donors with type O and type A blood are especially needed as BBD currently has a 0.7-day supply of O positive, 1.9-day supply of O negative and a 4.2-day supply of A positive blood.

“With thousands getting vaccinated each day, we are thrilled to watch our state recover from this catastrophic year,” said Patricia Killeen, senior executive director and vice president of enterprise optimization at Blood Bank of Delmarva. “Across the country, blood centers are reporting the same concerning trend: a decline in blood donations. As our region bounces back in strides this spring, we need everyone to make an appointment and donate blood to help save lives. While the end of the pandemic is near, our struggle to fight for those in need continues.”

We are taking extra precautions to help prevent the person-to-person spread of COVID-19. As always, people are not eligible to donate if they’re experiencing a cold, sore throat, respiratory infection or flu-like symptoms. Additional information on donor eligibility and COVID-19 precautions is available here.

Donations are by appointment only and can be scheduled by calling 1-888-8-BLOOD-8 or visiting www.delmarvablood.org.

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