Drop in blood supply leads to red alert

PORTLAND — A seasonal shortage of blood donations could leave hospitals in Washington, Oregon and Alaska with a dangerously low supply during the Fourth of July holiday, officials said.

Highway accidents tend to increase in summer, especially during the holiday, leading to increased demand for blood, said Clare Matthias, Northwest regional spokeswoman for the Red Cross.

"Preparedness is our mantra here at the Red Cross. And we're at the point where it's hard for us to be prepared," Matthias said.

The serious shortage started earlier than usual this year, so the agency has issued a "red alert" for all negative blood types and O-positive blood, types carried by more than half the U.S. population.

A red alert means the region has less than a half-day's supply of that type, compared with the three-day supply the Red Cross likes to keep on hand.

Puget Sound Blood Center reports that in the 14 counties in Western Washington that they serve, while they still need people to donate through July 4, the center has a three- to four-day supply and is not experiencing a critical need for blood.

Blood supplies thin out every summer for several reasons, Matthias said.

Schools , whose blood drives contribute to the agency's collection, are out of session. Regular donors take vacations. And vacations drain the blood supply when July 4 falls on a Wednesday, Matthias said, presumably because people take longer vacations.

The Red Cross is seeing early shortages in many parts of the country, said Stephanie Millian, director of biomedical communications for American Red Cross Blood Services. She said 15 of 36 blood-collection regions faced serious shortages on Monday.

The Red Cross will need more than 5,000 units in blood donations in the coming week to make up for the shortfall and the lower number of donations expected through early July, Matthias said.

The lack of banked blood has some doctors nervous heading into the July Fourth holiday.

"Any time there's more people driving or more partying in general, we do see more accidents," said Dr. Cathy Miles, medical director of transfusion services for Legacy Health System. "And more accidents means more blood."