Photo from UAB Hospital
Blood for transfusion
Public calls for blood donations in response to mass shootings may be unnecessary and result in waste, according to researchers.
Mass shootings often trigger a sharp increase in blood donations for affected communities.
In response to the recent mass shooting at the Tree Of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, multiple news outlets called for blood donations, and local blood centers extended their hours to compensate for the increase in donations.
However, a new study suggests that blood products donated in response to mass shootings may go unused and have to be discarded.
This study was published in The Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery.
The study authors focused on blood donated in response to the mass shooting that took place in Las Vegas on October 1, 2017. This shooting resulted in 58 deaths, 869 injuries, 220 hospital admissions, and at least 68 critical care admissions.
Three healthcare systems provided data for the study. In all, 519 shooting victims were treated within these systems, and 185 were admitted to the hospitals. During the first 24 hours, these patients received 499 blood components, or 2.7 units per admission.
“From our data, it is likely that the total 1-day blood component transfusions needed in Las Vegas were more than in any mass shooting on record,” said study author M. James Lozada, DO, of Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee.
However, the blood donations made in response to the shooting surpassed the need.
A public call for blood donations was issued during a press conference in the early hours of October 2, and that call was amplified in news stories. Stories about blood donation in Las Vegas increased from a daily average of 10 to more than 100 on October 2.
From October 2 to 4, the American Red Cross saw a 53% increase in blood donations nationwide.
The Las Vegas blood bank, United Blood Services, reported receiving 791 donations right after the shooting.
Unfortunately, 137 of these donations (17%) went unused and were subsequently discarded, compared to an average of 26 wasted donations per month at the blood bank.
Therefore, Dr. Lozada and his colleagues concluded that a call for immediate blood donation was unnecessary.
“There is an emotional desire after these events on the part of the public to immediately donate blood, but that’s not always necessary, and it’s not always the best immediate response,” Dr. Lozada said. “The best thing you can do is donate blood year-round.”
“One of the things that we propose in the paper is for cities to develop some protocols for these kind of scenarios, where instead of issuing a blanket call for blood donation, you would do it in a systematic way. As one suggestion, you might do it by ZIP code.”
“Our findings are important to help us prepare for the next mass shooting in the United States. It shows us the amount of blood components we likely will need. It will also help first responders adequately prepare to save lives.”
There was no funding for this research, and the study authors declared no conflicts of interest.