Brother, Can You Spare a Pint of Blood?

TUESDAY, Aug. 28, 2001 (HealthDayNews) -- If you need blood, it might soon be hard to find a spare pint.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday issued new draft guidelines that, starting next year, will limit potential donors to prevent the possible spread of mad cow disease. Under the guidelines, American military personnel will be ruled out as donors, as will a host of travelers who have been abroad.

In the same spirit, the American Red Cross has already announced tougher donor restrictions that will take effect Sept. 17. Although the Red Cross says it has stepped up donor recruitment nationwide and will ship extra blood to New York City, which stands to suffer the most from the new rules, experts predict an already tight blood supply will tighten further.

The demand for blood in the United States is about 40,000 units per day. The Red Cross provides half that amount; the other half comes from blood banks and centers that are regulated by the FDA. A total of 13.9 million units of whole blood were collected in the United States in 1999, the most recent year for which figures are available.

"We're trying to make sure people know about the ongoing need for blood," says Dr. Jerry Squires, chief scientific officer at the Red Cross. This summer, the agency started an aggressive campaign to bring in more blood, using letters to existing donors, telemarketing efforts and paid advertisements. The strategy has worked, he adds.

At this point, the Red Cross has four to five days' worth of inventory, a comfortable cushion, Squires notes. In July of last year, the agency had less than a day's worth of inventory and had to make a nationwide emergency appeal for blood.

"I think we've proved over the summer that forthright efforts can make a difference in blood donations," he adds. "But we need people to keep coming. It takes about 20,000 people donating a day just to keep the blood supply up and running."

The National Blood Data Resource Center reported last week that there was a 5.2 percent increase in usage of blood this summer, compared to the same period a year ago. The 26 regional blood centers tracked by the non-profit agency for the Department of Health and Human Services released 1,092,144 units of blood between May 1 and July 31, compared to 1,037,774 units released in the same period last year. The 26 blood centers represent approximately one third of the country's blood supply.

What's behind the scarcity?

First, experts explain, an aging population is outpacing donations.

Second, there's widespread fear about the human form of mad cow disease, known as variant Creutzfeldt Jakob disease (vCJD). Neither a bacterium nor a virus, this brain-wasting pathogen is little understood, and many are concerned that donors who ate diseased beef in England or Europe could contaminate the U.S. blood pool.

To keep the nation's blood supply safe from a disease scientists don't have a handle on yet, the Red Cross has decided to turn away potential blood donors who have: lived in the United Kingdom for three months since 1980; lived in any European country for six months since 1980; or received a blood transfusion in the United Kingdom since 1980.

The agency's officials believe this new policy will eliminate 8 percent -- or 400,000 people -- of the agency's existing donor base. At this point, there have been no documented cases of the fatal disease spreading through transfusion.

Less strict than the Red Cross initiative, the new FDA guidelines suggest waiting until May 2002 before excluding those people who have spent at least three months in the United Kingdom between 1980 and 1996, when controls were put in place to keep contaminated beef away from consumers.

The guidelines also suggest that current or former U.S. military personnel along with people who have spent at least five years in France since 1980 be eliminated as possible donors.

The final phase of the guidelines, which would take effect in October 2002, would bar anyone who has spent at least five years in Europe since 1980 from giving blood.

The FDA came up with the concept of delaying the tighter restrictions after its advisory committee endorsed the new rules but asked that more attention be paid to offsetting a possible shortage with national recruitment efforts and a national monitoring system to pinpoint potential shortages.

Under the new guidelines, the FDA estimates that 95 percent of the eligible donors would remain eligible, while the risk of exposure to mad cow disease would be reduced by about 90 percent.

"There's a need to balance efforts to increase safety with the availability of blood for lifesaving procedures where needed," says Dr. Jay Epstein, director of the FDA's Office of Blood Review and Research. "We think we've set the right balance in place."

And if new evidence shows that mad cow disease could be spread through blood transfusions, "obviously we would reexamine whether we have adequate cautions in place," Epstein adds.

What To Do

Blood is only good for 42 days, so the supply must be updated constantly. If you are eligible, donate now. Donors must be healthy, at least 17 years old and weigh at least 110 pounds. Only 5 percent of eligible Americans donate blood on a regular basis.

To find out where to give blood in your area, call the Red Cross at 1-800-448-3543. Or contact the National Blood Exchange, at 1-800-458-9388, for directions to a member blood bank in your area where you can give blood.

The Red Cross also has information on a chapter near you. And visit the New York Blood Center for details on exactly what you're donating when you give blood.

Finally, visit the American Association of Blood Banks for information on blood and blood donors.