By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Area blood banks are pushing for more donations amid a national shortage that’s been called the worst in a decade.

The blood supply issue rose from the coronavirus pandemic as blood drives were canceled and the increasing number of people working from home meant traditional events held at businesses had fewer potential donors.

“COVID has shook us up in ways we never knew possible,” Heidi Ognibene, chief operating officer at the Rock River Valley Blood Center, told the Rock River Current. 

LISTEN: Heidi Ognibene talks about the need for donations on This Week in the Stateline

The blood center aims to collect from 800 donors per week in order to meet the demand for the 13 hospitals it serves in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. Some weeks it hits that goal, other times its supply can be reduced to just a few pints of certain blood types.

Blood use is not predictable because the need can change based on surgeries, car crashes or other crises. And blood has a shelf life of 42 days, so donations are regularly needed.

“If we don’t get (800 donors), it just means we’re going day-to-day, week-to-week and crossing our fingers that nothing happens,” Ognibene said. “It’s a day-to-day dicey situation.”

The American Red Cross, which supplies about 40% of the nation’s blood, has said this is the worst shortage it has faced in a decade.

The national shortage affects blood banks here, too.

“If we need help filling our supply, there’s nobody that’s going to help backfill us, and we can’t help backfill other places around the country if we can’t meet our need,” Ognibene told Steve Summers on This Week in the Stateline. 

You do not have to be vaccinated against the coronavirus in order to donate, but you do need to be healthy and feeling well.

“We’re still testing for COVID antibodies, so you’d find out if you have antibodies,” Ognibene said. “Our platform that we’re using shows both antibodies from the vaccine and it shows antibodies that are natural, but we can’t tell the difference between them.”

The Rock River Valley Blood Center is challenging people to donate at least twice in 2022. It issued the challenge at the start of this month, which is National Blood Donor Month.

“During National Blood Donor Month we want to thank our current donors for their lifesaving support and urge everyone, even new donors, to commit to the challenge of at least two donations a year,” Ognibene said in a news release. “The need for blood is critical, so we really would love for donors to make blood donation a habit.”

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter @KevinMHaas