COVID-19 blamed for worst blood shortage in decades

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TYLER, Texas (KLTV) – Carter Blood Care says they are facing a severe blood shortage not seen in the past 30 years.

In their donation center in Tyler, the shelves supposed to be filled with their blood supply are mostly empty. Director of operations Jacque Decker says COVID-19 is mainly to blame for the shortage.

Blood drives had to be canceled, we had much less donor involvement in our blood drives and donor centers, Decker said.

Another contributor to their supply is donations from blood drives at local high schools. But as school is out, these workouts do not occur, further compounding the shortage.

There are certain types of blood that we have less of a day’s supply for and sometimes the blood comes out the next day as fast as we can get it in, Decker said.

When it comes time to use the blood, Decker says hospitals in East Texas are feeling the impact of the shortage.

There are patients all over DFW, Central and East Texas being told they have to wait right now, Decker said.

We have reached out to hospitals in East Texas on how they are handling the shortage.

UT Health East Texas says in part: We have experienced intermittent blood supply shortages dating back to the winter storm in February. Sometimes the shortages are more severe, as they have been recently. However, we monitor our supply on a daily basis and to date have not experienced any negative impact.

Christus Health did not respond to our request for comment.

It’s unclear when the shortage might end, but in the meantime, Carter Blood Care is urging everyone who qualifies to donate.

We do a quick mini physical exam and you answer a few questions, and you pop in and out in about 30-45 minutes and get juice and cookies, Decker said.

Anyone who has had COVID-19 should wait 14 days after their last symptoms before donating blood. There is no waiting time after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.

For more information on how you can donate blood, click here.

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