January is National Blood Donor Month. Obviously, blood is a necessity and the need is constant right now.
"We of course hope to have five days on hand because all it takes is a severe motor vehicle accident or a natural disaster or a manmade disaster for that five day inventory to go down very low," says the University of Minnesota's Dr. Claudia Cohn.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, blood inventory levels dipped severely and although they've since rebounded, the need is still very high.
According to Dr. Cohn, Minnesota is one of the best states in the country for donations, and she's calling on more than just baby boomers to keep this trend going.
"We need younger people to get out and make it a habit of their lives, yeah," says Cohn.
Cohn adds that more minorities are needed to donate blood as the blood received from a similar ethnic group is more compatible.
And while needles might be scary to some, she reminds people it only takes a few seconds and you get a tasty cookies afterwards. Win-win.
Q: Why is it important for people to donate blood?
Dr. Cohn: The need for a blood transfusion is constant. According to the American Red Cross, patients in the United States receive a blood transfusion every two seconds. Because blood has a limited shelf life, new blood donations are essential to keep hospitals well stocked. Without blood donations, hospitals would have to turn patients away or leave them untreated. We depend on the altruism and generosity of blood donors to share the gift of life.
Q: What are some of the causes of low blood donation levels?
Dr. Cohn: The blood supply is typically lower during the winter months as blood donations often decrease because of the holidays, travel schedules, inclement weather and illness. The need for blood is ongoing—victims of car accidents still arrive in emergency departments and cancer patients still require chemotherapy, for example, both of which use life-saving blood transfusions.
Q: What are the eligibility criteria for donating blood?
Dr. Cohn: There are criteria in place to protect both the donor and ensure the safety of the patient receiving the blood. Donors must be healthy and capable of donating blood without harming themselves. For instance, a donor’s hemoglobin must be more than 12.5 g/dL for females and more than 13 g/dL for males. If a donor’s hemoglobin is low, their donation could make them anemic. There are other criteria regarding the medications a donor uses, as well as recent vaccinations and travel history. Importantly, there are criteria to guard against potential bloodborne infectious diseases such as HIV, hepatitis B and C. Anal sex and/or IV drug abuse are considered behaviors that raise the risk of transmission for these diseases, and therefore disqualify donors. However, it’s important to note that due to recent federal policy changes, donors who have had anal sex may qualify if they have not had new and/or multiple partners within the past three months.
Q: The Food and Drug Administration updated its policy last spring to allow gay and bisexual men to donate blood. Why was this change made?
Dr. Cohn: The FDA originally created a blanket ban on blood donations from men who have sex with men (MSM) as they were considered a high-risk group for HIV transmission. However, a gay or bisexual man in a monogamous relationship poses no greater risk to the blood supply than anyone else. The FDA’s Assessing Donor Variability And New Concepts in Eligibility (ADVANCE) study confirmed the safety of individual risk assessment. This study found that anyone with a recent history of multiple sexual partners who engages in anal sex poses a risk to the blood supply, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, and that MSM pose no greater risk to the blood supply. It is wonderful that federal guidelines were updated to welcome gay and bisexual men—as well as women who have sex with MSM—as blood donors.
Today, all blood donors are asked the same questions about their sexual activity and sexual behaviors, regardless of their gender or sexual orientation. For more comprehensive information about the changes, you can visit the Association for the Advancement of Blood and Biotherapies (AABB) at aabb.org.
Q: What are you doing to advance research in the transfusion medicine field?
Dr. Cohn: My work currently focuses on improving the national infrastructure for sharing blood-related data that is clinically relevant for patients. This information can help reduce incompatible blood transfusions and will be particularly helpful for patients with chronic transfusion needs, such as those with sickle cell disease.