INLAND VALLEY DAILY BULLETIN
Posted: 07/15/2013 01:28:05 PM PDT
Updated: 07/15/2013 01:28:13 PM PDT
Almost 10 million Americans annually give blood. (John Guillemin)
Dennis
Gastineau started giving blood regularly when he was in medical school
in the 1970s. The $25 he received bought almost enough groceries for a
week. Now, it just seems like the right thing to do.It may also be bad for his health. Gastineau, who happens to be a hematologist, is among the 2.4 million donors who risk silent damage as a result of frequent giving. U.S. government research published last year found this group iron-deficient, which can lead to fatigue, compromised mental function and eventually anemia. Now, iron levels are being examined as part of an $87.2 million study the U.S. is funding on blood donation and transfusion safety.
Seventy percent of the blood supply comes from repeat donors. Limiting their giving may hamper a system that already suffers shortages. The Mayo Clinic predicts a 10 percent drop in its supply from its restrictions on donors after finding that one-third had iron deficiency.
"We want to make sure we don't have a group of people walking around being iron-deficient," said Manish Gandhi, the medical director of the Mayo Clinic's blood donation center. "Blood donation in the U.S. is an altruistic thing. We need to focus on what we should be doing to protect these wonderful donors."
Almost 10 million Americans annually give blood. Still, that's only 5 percent of those eligible, according to a national survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The agency's REDS-III study, under way
since 2011, is examining donors' iron levels as part of an effort to improve blood banking and transfusion practices. Boosting the number of donors may be key to a healthier blood banking system.Whole blood, which is divided into four components to treat everything from hemophilia to ulcers and accident victims, can now be given every two months, under rules set by the Food and Drug Administration.
The question is whether that's too often. The FDA, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and the AABB, a nonprofit that represents the transfusion medicine industry, are struggling to find a way to minimize iron loss in donors without reducing the total blood supply. Researcher
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WTKR.com
Red Cross issues emergency call for blood and platelet donors
“We are counting on generous volunteer blood and platelet donors to step up and give now,” said Page Gambill, CEO for the Red Cross Mid-Atlantic Blood Services Region. “Every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood. Each day donations come up short, less blood is available for these patients in need.”
Nationwide, donations through the Red Cross were down approximately 10 percent in June, resulting in about 50,000 fewer donations than expected. The shortfall is similar to what the Red Cross experienced in June 2012.
June can be among the most challenging months of the year for blood and platelet donations as regular donors delay giving while they adjust to summer schedules. High school and college blood drives account for as much as 20 percent of Red Cross donations during the school year.
Donations from those who usually give at these drives drop by more than 80 percent when school is out for the summer. In addition, a mid-week Independence Day holiday reduced the number of blood drives scheduled in early July.
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