PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The American Red Cross is warning of a severe blood shortage in the region, with blood supplies down about 35% over the past month. The organization is trying to boost donations by offering a trip to the Super Bowl.
Jennifer Graham, the CEO of the American Red Cross of Southeastern Pennsylvania, said the humanitarian organization has issued the shortage notice as hospitals request more blood than is currently available. She attributed the scarcity to a combination of high flu activity and winter weather, which she said sidelined donors and increased demand.
“Right now, during a blood shortage, doctors may face difficult choices, about which patients receive blood transfusions and who will need to wait,” Graham explained.
To encourage donations, the Red Cross is giving away a trip to the Super Bowl, eligible for those who donate blood by Jan. 25.
“The winner and a guest will receive two tickets to the Super Bowl, tickets to the official Super Bowl experience, round trip airfare, three-night hotel accommodations, plus a $1000 gift card for expenses.”
Graham said the shortage is especially serious for patients in need of platelet transfusions — which are commonly used in trauma care, cancer treatment and childbirth — as well as O, A negative, and B negative blood types.
“Seconds count in emergencies and it’s the blood that’s already on the hospital shelves that helps save lives,” she said, “so when supplies are critically low, trauma surgeons and other doctors kind of face the real possibility that blood could run out when it’s needed most.”