![]() ![]() Sutherland said they have to work harder behind the scenes to strategically collect, manage and distribute blood products when they are not in ample supply. We are evaluating that every single morning before we even open the first OR suite.” “We really have to watch our supply in order to manage it so that patients have what they need. That means everybody goes on high alert,” Sutherland explained. “Does it create a ripple effect? Absolutely. Sutherland said she would like to see a five-day supply of blood products on the shelves, but over the last few years, it has hovered around a three-day supply or less. They need it at very rapid paces and sometimes very large quantities.” “People who come into our hospitals for open-heart surgery, car accidents, high-risk pregnancies, all those patients have the potential to need blood. “Our blood supply is still not what it was pre-pandemic,” said Alana Sutherland, technical director for transfusion services at Allina Health. The transfusion services laboratory receives blood products from the American Red Cross and Memorial Blood Centers, coordinating distribution to patients across the hospital system. “We want to pivot away from getting into a critical need this summer.”ĥ EYEWITNESS NEWS visited one of Allina Health’s blood banks, connected to Abbott Northwestern, on Wednesday. We’re trying to prevent that,” Thesenga said. “We are not in that emergency situation right now. Some hospitals in the metro had to cancel non-emergency surgeries due to the lack of blood. In January 2022, the Red Cross declared its first-ever “blood crisis” and had to limit blood shipments to hospitals.ĥ EYEWITNESS NEWS reported on hospitals receiving less than a quarter of the blood products they requested, which threatened patient care. “We don’t want to keep going in that direction. The organization would like to collect 12,500 units of blood per day nationwide, so a shortfall of that size equates to about a two-day loss for the month of May. ![]() “In May, the Red Cross collected 26,000 fewer donations than we planned, so that for us was a concerning shortfall,” said Sue Thesenga, regional communications director for the American Red Cross Minnesota and Dakotas Region. The American Red Cross is reporting a “concerning shortfall” in blood donations heading into summer. Red Cross asking for more blood donations on heels of May shortfall ![]()
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