Pittsburgh facing blood donation crisis

PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh is facing a blood donation crisis.

The supply is at historically and dangerously low levels.

>>RELATED: Blood supply sits at 2-day supply, donations critically needed

That means if there are incidents like car accidents or strong storms that cause major injuries, there might not be enough blood to treat the people involved.

David Swift is Vitalant's senior manager for manufacturing and took Channel 11 on a tour of their two refrigerator rooms.

"Right now, we're losing more donors than we're gaining on a daily basis," he said.

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So why is our blood supply so anemic?

1. The aging Baby Boomers can't give us as much blood anymore and millennials aren't making up the difference.
2. Companies aren't holding as many blood drives.
3. There are more donor restrictions these days, mostly for medical conditions or medication.

In 2012, they got up to 1,000 units of blood a day.

"Now we're only getting a hundred to 300 units a day, it's not enough," Swift said. "We're going to lose the high school donors and so we really need people to step up."

>>More details on Vitalant and blood donation

It's a nationwide problem, and nearby cities are helping each other out, but that only goes so far.

Pittsburgh is so low right now that if we don't get more donors soon, hospitals will have to start postponing elective surgeries to save the blood for traumas.

If your organization or business is interested in hosting a blood drive, follow this link - https://www.vitalant.org/Engage/Host-a-Blood-Drive.aspx

Cox Media Group