National blood shortage threatens young patient with severe blood disorder
AURORA, Colo. — Since the onset of the pandemic, a blood supply shortage across the country is threatening patient care. Just last month, the American Red Cross announced that the current blood shortage is the worst the organization has seen in a decade. For patients like 8-year-old Peyton, blood supply is critical.
Peyton lives with severe beta thalassemia, which means her body doesn’t produce enough hemoglobin, a protein that carries oxygen to the rest of the body. The treatment for beta thalassemia is blood transfusions, which Peyton receives monthly to survive.
“We adopted her in 2016. And we did know that she had thalassemia,” Peyton’s mom, Janet, said. “Initially, when we heard that that meant blood transfusions, that was terrifying to me, because I had no idea what that even meant.”
Her parents, who started keeping track of her blood transfusions since she was two-and-a-half, told Rocky Mountain PBS that Peyton has received 77 transfusions.
“And that's not 77 donors,” Janet said. “Sometimes it's more than one donor for her to get the blood that she needs. So that's a lot of people that we are just grateful to.”
But at Children’s Hospital Colorado, where Peyton receives treatment, supply shortages threaten patients’ care.
“There's an unusually critical need for blood donations right now,” said Dr. Kyle Annen, D.O., who specializes in osteopathic medicine. “Right now, some places are running at less than a day's worth of supply.”
According to Annen, this means that hospitals may order 10 or 30 units of blood but the provider may only be able to supply two units to the hospital.
“This type of blood shortage is the type of thing that will keep you up at night,” Peyton’s mom said.
For Peyton, blood donations represent the difference between being in a hospital bed and going to dance class.
“If she doesn't get the blood she needs, it puts her in a bed and threatens her life,” Janet said.
When COVID-19 cases began to surge in March 2020, doctors urged healthy Americans to donate blood in order to avoid a shortage. But since then, fewer people are donating blood due to drive cancellations, staff shortages, and exposure to COVID-19. In addition, Annen suggested that misunderstanding is partly the cause of the shortage.
“A lot of people think that they're not eligible or they're not qualified to donate blood. And there's a good chance that's not true,” Annen said. “Over half of the population is eligible to donate blood but less than 5% does.”
She added: “There's a lot of different criteria that has changed recently. So people may have thought they weren't eligible but now they may be eligible.”
Since the shortage begin, the Food and Drug Administration eased some limits on blood donations from gay and bisexual men. The policy, however, still prohibits sexually active gay and bisexual men from donating blood.
Right now, Children’s Hospital Colorado has an immediate need for O-negative blood donors. Almost 97% of the blood supply at Children’s Hospital is used for pediatric transfusions, like Peyton's. The entire process takes as little as 30 minutes, and one donation can help up to five kids in need.
“She's into dancing and singing and art and princesses and everything that makes her feel special. She is our boisterous girl,” Janet said. “I can't even imagine what our lives would be like if she weren't in them.
To donate blood: find a local blood drive or set up an appointment with the Red Cross here or with Vitalant here.