NEW ORLEANS — The Red Cross has declared a national emergency blood shortage, and the effects are being felt right here in Southeast Louisiana. The Louisiana Blood Center is pleading with people to donate before things get worse.
10-year-old Abron Frye is in remission after he was diagnosed with leukemia. His mom, Misty Frye, says Abron relied on blood donations. She said, "He was diagnosed at six years old, a month before his 7th birthday."
"It's scary because I have my little baby here fighting for life."
She went on to say, "In order to beat the disease that he had, he needed to have blood transfusions to help him, to boost his levels of blood count in order to receive his medication."
She says, "Until you have to be on that receiving end, you don't really understand the dire need. We have been on that receiving end; we needed the blood and platelet transfusions, and to see how scarce they were, it's heartbreaking, and it's scary."
But donations are dwindling, the Blood Center says they need 200 Louisianans to donate blood daily. Dr. Tim Peterson with the Blood Center says a combination of the heat, kids being out of school, and people traveling for the summer has exacerbated the shortage. Dr. Peterson said, "We have noticed, nationwide the last 6-8 years, there's been a steady decrease in blood donations... Right now, 7 million people are providing most of the blood for the entire United States.... Close to 200 million people are eligible to be donors."
Dr. Peterson says that with Tropical Strom Debby hitting Florida, blood donated here will be sent there to help patients in need. "Patients who are undergoing surgeries, bone marrow and organ transplantations, and chemotherapy require a steady and safe available blood supply."
New Orleans EMS carries blood on board its ambulances. Dr. Megan Marino with New Orleans EMS says this program could be in jeopardy if people don't continue to donate.
Dr. Marino said, "Thankfully, we have had enough blood on our ambulances to continue to give the lifesaving blood to our trauma patients that have not been impacted."
She went on to say, "It would be incredibly devastating for us to lose access to our blood supply. It's incredibly important. We've seen amazing results."
The Blood Center is calling on people like Jay Utterback to roll up their sleeves and donate. Utterback said, "My father goes for dialysis three times a week, he's elderly, he has cancer and he loses a lot of blood through his bladder, so it's personal to me."
It's people like Utterback who help save people like Abron.
To find the nearest Blood Center to you, here's the link.
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