Critical Type O Blood Shortage Hits Huntington Hospital

Huntington Hospital has put out an urgent call for blood donations as a spokesperson said Thursday that the hospital is currently experiencing a lack of Type O blood.

“We’re currently experiencing a critical shortage of O blood types. That’s O positive and O negative, which is the universal blood type,” a spokesperson for the Huntington Hospital Blood Donor Center told Pasadena Now in an interview.

Currently, Huntington Hospital is getting Type O blood from the American Red Cross, which is also low on blood supply.

Just this week, the American Red Cross, which provides 40 percent of the country’s blood, announced that it is facing historically low blood supply levels and if people will not come forward to donate blood, some patients requiring transfusion may face delays in care.

The organization attributed the supply issue to “busy holiday schedules, breaks from school and winter weather.”

“They (Red Cross) have less than one day’s supply. We’ve had some trauma patients that we’ve had to make sure that the bleeding is contained because we don’t have enough O’s to provide for some of the trauma patients. So it is a very serious, critical shortage,” the spokesperson said.

“Huntington Hospital is the only trauma center in the area. So it’s vital that we have enough blood for our community,” she added.

The spokesperson attributed the blood shortage to several factors. She said during this season, less people are donating blood and more people are experiencing accidents.

“There’s the seasonal shortage that we get over the holidays because our regular donors go away on vacation. And then we get a lot of visitors that are vacationing, and then we have more accidents, but then our regular donors are gone.”

“So that’s considered a seasonal shortage, which happens during the summer. And then during the holiday winter months.”

The fear of going out because of COVID-19 has also contributed to the blood supply shortage, she added.

People aged 16 to 75 are able to donate. They must bring with them ID that contains their date of birth, as well as their proof of vaccination.

Unvaccinated donors are still welcome as long as they are healthy. However, the hospital will provide them with an N95 mask to wear when they donate blood, according to the spokesperson.

She advised everyone who plans to donate to eat a good meal before their scheduled appointment. If someone is taking antibiotics, she said they do have to wait 48 hours before they can donate blood. Those who had surgery can donate six weeks after the operation if they are no longer on medication.

She added that cancer survivors can donate provided that they are one year cancer-free and the cancer is non-blood type related.

Diabetes patients can also donate as long as their condition is controlled with medication. The same goes for people with high blood pressure.

Those with tattoos can donate starting two weeks after getting a tattoo.

According to Huntington Hospital’s website, those eligible who want to donate blood can call Huntington Hospital Blood Donor Center, at (626) 397-5422 to schedule an appointment.

Donors can also go to the Blood Donor Center located at 711 Fairmount Ave., Pasadena.