Hospitals, Blood Bank Call For Donations

Critical shortages of blood supplies have led to a plea for blood donations, especially from college students and high school students.

School-based blood drives have been suspended indefinitely during the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, a large percentage of the donating public is age 50 or older.

The Blood Bank of Delmarva has expanded hours at its Dover, Salisbury and Christiana centers to make it easier for people to donate. Beebe Healthcare and Bayhealth are lending their support to the donation drive as well.

As we enter the season of giving, please keep in mind the critical shortage of blood being experienced right now in our communities but also nationwide,” Beebe Healthcare President and CEO David A. Tam, MD, MBA, FACHE said. “We all can make a difference by taking the time to donate. At Beebe, we organized three blood drives this summer, but your help is still needed during these unprecedented times. It is simple – donating blood saves lives.”

“Now more than ever we are relying on our community to donate blood,” Bayhealth Medical Director of Emergency Services Kelly Abbrescia said. “The COVID-19 pandemic has created many challenges for the healthcare community, including a decrease in blood donations. To ensure we have the resources in place to care for our patients, we need a sufficient blood supply available. We are asking everyone who can donate blood to do so to ensure we can provide life-saving care to our community members.”

“BBD has been faced with several incidents since the start of the COVID pandemic that have resulted in our inability to fill hospital orders due to injury, trauma, unexpected surgeries and other medical related events,” said BBD Manager Product Services Megan Johnson, who oversees fulfillment of hospital blood product orders. “BBD receives multiple phone calls daily from hospitals in our service area requesting blood and blood products for these types of events and one thing is consistent with our messaging, ‘I do not have enough inventory on the shelf to fill your entire order.’ Our hospitals and the patients we serve, including Beebe and Bayhealth, depend on us to have lifesaving products available when the call to action is answered. BBD cannot be successful in our intent and ability to service our hospital customers effectively and efficiently without your continued support and partnership. This is where you the community is needed to help BBD through this continuing struggle. Thank you.”