During the holidays, people give gifts and spend time with family, and blood donations continue to play an important role as the need significantly increases.
The season regularly brings a decline in blood donations, according to local blood donation centers.
Rising need for blood as people head home for the holidays
For example, in 2024, just after the new year, the American Red Cross declared an emergency blood shortage, stating it was experiencing “ the lowest number of people giving blood in the last 20 years.”
Kristin Paltzer, senior manager of public relations for Versiti Blood Center, explained that the holiday decline can be attributed to a variety of factors, including people traveling home for the holidays and a lack of blood drives during this period.
“A lot of people that come to our centers are taking well-deserved time off. They’re with family, and so those regular appointments they might have tend to take a backseat,” said Paltzer. “We also see a dip because… a lot of our blood collection comes from community blood drives that are held at schools, churches, and businesses. So when businesses are closed, or schools are on any type of holiday break, those drives are not happening.”
Seasonal emergencies drive up blood demand
In addition to donations decreasing, Paltzer noted that there is an uptick in those who need the blood supply during the holidays, due to the greater likelihood of accidents with many on the roadways.
According to the Red Cross, one blood donation could help save more than one life, but a single car accident victim could need as many as 100 units of blood, which can quickly dwindle a hospital’s supply.
“We are very fortunate with our organization to get blood to our hospital partners as they need it, but there is always a chance that we have a trauma come in, it uses a significant amount of blood, and there’s not blood on the shelves for the next patient,” said Paltzer.
During this season of giving, Paltzer encouraged people to donate blood and help make a difference.
“It’s a real human cause, and we need humans to help other humans…We want to make sure that blood is available for hospital partners to serve patients who ultimately end up being our family, our friends, or maybe even ourselves,” she said.
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