A United Blood Services bus on Tempe campus. (Photo by Annie Wechter)Arizona blood banks are experiencing a shortage of blood usable for transfusions on the shelves and are asking ASU students to help meet the demand.
United Blood Services, which supplies blood to 58 Arizona hospitals, has been experiencing a shortage through the end of the summer, continuing past Labor Day weekend, said Sue Thew, a spokesperson for United Blood Services.
“We had a lot of donors come in before the holiday weekend, so we rebuilt supply enough to get us through,” Thew said. “We are still experiencing a shortage of certain blood types, but it is not as critical as before.”
Thew said it's the organization’s policy to keep a three-day supply of blood for each type on the shelves, but that on Monday the banks barely had a sufficient supply of three days' worth of Type O-positive blood, and only had enough O-negative blood for two days.
More than half of all blood transfusions require Type O blood, and O-positive is the most commonly transfused blood type, Thew said.
High school and college-age people are the top donation age group in the state, making up about 10 percent of all blood donors.
“In the 2013-14 school year, we had 23,500 people between the ages of 16 and 19 donate blood,” Thew said. “And this is beneficial because their blood tends to be healthier. As we age, the possibilities increase that we develop a medical situation that would prevent us from being able to donate blood.”
Thew said in order to care for each patient that needs a blood transfusion, about 500 blood donors are needed per day.
While teenagers and young adults make up the group that donates the most blood, Thew said that there are many misconceptions that can prevent a young person from donating.
“We often hear that people think that they cannot donate because they have gotten a tattoo,” she said. “But really, in some states, tattoos are federally regulated, and there is no waiting period after receiving a tattoo before a person can donate blood. Unfortunately, Arizona is not one of those states, so there is a 12-month deferral period. But if a person received a tattoo in another state, they can be allowed to donate blood right away.”
Health sciences sophomore Daniela Quiroz said she has donated about three times in the past.
“They came to my high school, so I donated then,” Quiroz said. “Now they sometimes come to campus. When it’s convenient, I (donate). Sometimes they call you, and I don’t usually go then, but I do when it’s convenient.”
Social work graduate student Lee Ann Sobczak said she has never donated blood before.
“I used to be terrified of needles, but I’m not so much anymore,” she said.
If a person is interested in donating blood, he or she can visit www.bloodhero.com to schedule an appointment, or can wait for a blood drive on campus. There are three upcoming drives on campus on Oct. 9, 15 and 21. They will take place at the Tempe bookstore and go from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Reach the reporter at cvanek@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @corinavanek
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