Economy blamed for slump in blood donations

The economy is forcing some companies to cut back on a staple of summer – blood drives.

The River Valley Blood Services Region says about 14 regional blood drives have been canceled this summer by companies citing economic concerns.

That represents about a 45 percent drop in summer blood drives for the region, which supplies blood products to 56 hospitals – including Bloomington Hospital and Monroe Hospital – in 70 counties across Kentucky, Indiana and southeastern Illinois.

Spokeswoman Loni White said another 36 companies have reduced their blood
donation goals, resulting in about 1,500 fewer units of donated blood in the region.

Companies account for 80 percent of the region’s blood drives, she said.

White said blood donations typically drop during the summer, when people are on vacation, but that companies have told her they’ve canceled drives or reduced their goals because layoffs have cut their work forces.

“Some of them say they can’t afford to let their employees leave their desks for an hour because they are now doing two peoples’ jobs,” she said.

Blood center officials said hospitals can still get blood through the American Red Cross, which has a national distribution network to meet critical needs.

“We’ll get blood to hospitals in our region, even if we have to call regions in Minnesota or Nebraska or another state for blood,” White said. “But we still don’t want to have to worry about blood shortages this summer.”

The picture is better at the Indiana Blood Center in Indianapolis, the largest supplier of blood to Indiana hospitals.

Dan Waxman, the group’s chief medical officer, said companies are being urged to hold drives twice a year instead of just once. The blood center also keeps a database with donors’ e-mail addresses to encourage them to come in when supplies of specific blood types run low.

Donors also can go online at www.donorpoint.org to make appointments or find out about upcoming drives, he said.

“We just have been lucky in the sense that our main donor base has stayed loyal, and in areas where there’s been downsizing they are still coming in,” Waxman said.