TAMPA, Fla. — It could be you. It could be someone you love. The need for blood donations spikes this time of year, but unfortunately, the American Red Cross has just announced that the number of people giving blood has hit its lowest point in the past 20 years.
Aimee Brodeen, giving blood on the USF campus, says she knows how important giving blood can be. Years ago, Aimee nearly lost a close friend in a car wreck. Someone else's blood saved his life.
She's been giving hers, regularly, ever since.
“Yeah - I can't imagine him, not being in the world,” she said. “Not to have a tragic moment that changed my life, but that's essentially what it was a tragic moment that helped motivate me more to keep donating.”
Each day, thousands need the life-saving gift of blood.
But this week the American Red Cross announced an emergency shortage.
The organization, which collects about 40% of the U.S. blood supply, said the number of people giving blood had hit its lowest level in two decades, down 40% over that same time period.
“I never would've known that, honestly. I'm surprised,” Luis Zeped said while giving blood. “I'm glad to be giving back to the community though.”
“The need is real, and we need people to come in and donate,” Susan Forbes with blood bank OneBlood said.
The Red Cross doesn’t collect blood in Florida. OneBlood does – and they’ve seen the same alarming drop in donors here.
“It's really about encouraging more people to do this and making it a habit. That's the key to avoiding blood shortages - is making blood donations of habit,” Forbes said. “Less than 5% of the population donates blood went up to 60% can, but don't.”
The Red Cross estimates that a person needs life-saving blood every two seconds in the U.S. Some hospitals are now seeing empty shelves that could create delays in providing critical care.
“Doctors have to make choices about which patients can receive a transfusion on a given day. So, surgeries - like heart surgeries - can be delayed,” Dr. Eric Gary said. “Waiting for the available blood to be collected and sent to the hospital.”
Blood banks say the number of people donating blood dropped sharply during the pandemic as people working from home stopped participating in office blood drives.
This year, a spike in Covid along with the flu and RSV have also led to more hospitalizations - further stressing the supply.