By Tim Mastro

DELMARVA PENINSULA — The Blood Bank of Delmarva declared its first blood emergency of 2023 on Monday. The blood emergency is due to several evolving factors, including school breaks, cold and flu season, and the lingering effects of COVID-19. In January 2023, BBD received 1,000 fewer donations than the previous January.

The number of blood donations still are not back to pre-pandemic levels. Compounding the problem is a continued lag in first-time and youth donors, which remain one-third below (33%) pre-pandemic levels. This has caused a long-term ripple effect as BBD introduce its youngest donors to the importance of donations at high school and college blood drives. And while Delmarvans are returning to in-person work, office and community blood drives and visits to local centers and mobile drives are significantly down. 

In addition to whole blood donors, platelet donors are urgently needed. With a shelf life of just five days, BBD relies on dedicated platelet donors to help patients undergoing chemotherapy, those with bleeding disorders, new mothers, and more.

Blood donors can give every 56 days, and platelet donors can give twice per month.  The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently lifted eligibility restrictions for individuals who lived in Europe during certain periods of time.

Visit www.DelmarvaBlood.org to schedule an appointment to donate, or call 1-888-8-BLOOD-8.