Community Blood Center, dealing with urgent need for blood, extends drive through Monday

DAYTON — The Dayton region is dealing with a blood supply shortage that now has the Community Blood Center asking the region for donations.

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“We are looking right now at about a six day supply in all hospitals, but just in the center we’re down to about a three day supply and that is not a comfortable place to be,” Mark Pompilio, Community Blood Center public relations and marketing manager, said Thursday. “We have to do better than that.”

Pompilio said the shortage is a combination of cancellations because of a spike in COVID-19 cases in the region, unorthodox routines in the community because of the pandemic, and the July 4th holiday weekend. On top of that, hospitals have tapped into the blood supply significantly in recent days because of medical emergencies.

“There was a heart procedure that took 18 units of blood. There was a kidney procedure that took 18 units of blood. There was a gunshot incident that took 26 units of blood,” Pompilio said. “The concern is that we are basically running out of donors.”

The CBC lab did not run out of blood, he said, but it was close. They ordered and re-ordered units for the gunshot victim, he said, and they shuffled more supply and even considered borrowing from the next day’s allotment. The lab re-evaluated how many units were needed and everything worked out, Pompilio said.

Because of the shortage, Community Blood Center is extending its current “We Are Essential Heroes Blood Drive” through Monday, July 6. Anyone registering to donate gets a free $10 Kroger gift card.

But Pompilio said if the center does not get a sufficient number of donations before then, it may have to make an urgent appeal to the community for donations Monday.

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