Blood center appeals for donations to replenish supplies

It’s been a challenging six months for the Inland Northwest Blood Center, where donations are down after winter storms, a late flu season and even travel to countries affected by the Zika virus.

As the center prepares for a three-day shutdown this weekend to install a new computer system, it’s appealing for blood donations.

“We’re at a very minimal level,” said Jennifer Hawkins, the center’s director of donor recruitment, marketing and communications. “What we collect on a daily basis is going right back out to hospitals. There are no emergency supplies.”

The center will be closed Friday, Saturday and part of Sunday for the computer installation. The work has been planned for two years and can’t be delayed, Hawkins said.

The center won’t accept donations during that time, which will put it behind by about 1,200 units of blood. So donations received through Thursday, and again early next week, are especially important, Hawkins said.

The Inland Northwest Blood Center supplies blood to 35 hospitals and other medical facilities in Eastern Washington and North Idaho.

The center tries to keep a four-day supply of O-negative blood type on hand, but it’s down to a one-day supply.

“It’s been precarious for us not to have emergency supplies on the shelf,” Hawkins said. “We’ve been lucky so far.”

Someone badly injured in a car accident can require 100 to 200 units of blood in the emergency room, she said.

Blood donations fell in the aftermath of the November windstorm, when families were without power and dealing with downed trees and damaged roofs. Due to ongoing events, donations have never rebounded, Hawkins said.

A December snow storm, holiday travel, a late-breaking flu season and the Zika virus also reduced donations, she said. Usually, flu season tapers off in February, but it has lingered into April.

The Zika virus is transmitted by mosquitoes and has been linked to rises in microcephaly, a birth defect in babies whose mothers were infected while pregnant. The American Red Cross is telling people who’ve traveled to Zika-affected countries to delay giving blood until four weeks after their return. Sexual partners of men who’ve traveled to countries where the virus is present are also asked to delay donations.

Nationally, those factors are causing shortages at blood centers. The Inland Northwest Blood Center has received requests for help but hasn’t had a surplus to send to centers outside the region, Hawkins said.

“We really need our community to rally and put that emergency supply back on the shelf,” she said.