America is facing a major blood shortage. Here’s why heat is to blame

America has been suffering under a record-breaking heatwave this year.

As temperatures have skyrocketed and shattered records, millions of Americans in the upper Midwest and the northeast have tried to find relief.

But the heatwave also had an unusual side-effect – leaving the country short of blood.

Let’s take a closer look at why heat is to blame for America’s blood shortage.

What happened?

As per CNBC, the national supply of blood has fallen over 25 per cent since July 1.

The Red Cross has said that extreme temperatures impacted around 100 blood drives across America.

As per ABC, the group provides around 40 per cent of the US’ blood donations.

Only three per cent of eligible people, around 7 million Americans, donate blood every year.

The hot weather either drastically lowered turnout or forced organisers to simply cancel the events entirely.

According to The Hill, this is because extreme heat makes people more likely to stay at home.

Though summer sees the number of blood donations drop due to travel or other activities, the heat has made things worse.

The organisation estimated that the heat has led to a deficit of around 19,000 blood donations in July.

As a result, blood is transported to hospitals quicker than it is being collected.

Donated blood is widely used in medical treatments including operations, childbirths, in pregnancy complications, patients with traumatic injuries and people fighting cancer and blood disorders.

The Red Cross said it particularly needs donors with type O blood.

This is because type O positive is the most common blood type, while type O negative is the universal donor.

“Type O is especially important for people injured in accidents and other trauma who receive emergency care,” Dr Barry Siegfried, medical director of the Red Cross Michigan Region, told CNBC. “Donors of all blood types can help ensure hospital shelves are restocked to prevent patient care from being impacted.”

Making matters worse, there is no relief in sight for America when it comes to extreme heat.

As per The Hill, the peak Atlantic season begins in August – which the Red Cross has said is “extremely active.”

This is also known as hurricane season – which often sees areas of the US left flooded or facing power outages which can further exacerbate low donor turnout.

“One of the major distractions we’re dealing with now is a storm called Debby. Debby is wreaking havoc from Florida to the Carolinas. And as it does, it disrupts blood collection,” Richard Branigan, regional executive for the American Red Cross of Connecticut and Rhode Island, told NBC Connecticut.

This year, the fewest number of people have donated blood to the Red Cross in 20 years.

What do experts say?

Experts are raising the alarm over the shortage.

“Working with patients who critically need a blood transfusion, I can’t imagine blood not being available for someone I cared about and [who] needed it, especially a new mom or an infant that was needing a transfusion,” Melissa Destross, a registered nurse in the labor and delivery unit at a hospital in Detroit, was quoted as saying in the Red Cross news release.

“I’ve seen moms in a hemorrhage situation, post-delivery, have massive blood transfusions, like blood losses over seven liters.”

“Having type O blood products readily available is vital to providing timely and lifesaving care to patients in need,” said Baia Lasky, division chief medical officer for the Red Cross, in a press release.

“In fact, for a patient suffering massive blood loss, like an individual in a car accident or a mom experiencing a severe postpartum hemorrhage, group O is the most commonly transfused blood type,” Lasky added.

“There’s an urgent need across the nation. We’ve had a recent decline over July. Summer is always hard,” said Cheryl Engels, board member for the Red Cross of Connecticut told NBC Connecticut. “We’re very low on blood supply right now.”

The Red Cross is providing would-be donors with an incentive.

As per UPI.com, the US Red Cross has offered a $20 Amazon gift card to those who give blood before August 31.

“Blood cannot be manufactured or stockpiled and can only be made available through the kindness of volunteer donors. It’s the blood on the shelves now that helps during an emergency,” the Red Cross said, as per ABC.

With inputs from agencies