DETROIT (WXYZ) — The American Red Cross is sounding the alarm about dangerously low blood supplies in Southeast Michigan, warning that hospitals are struggling to meet daily demands for trauma patients, cancer treatments and emergency surgeries.
Watch Meghan Daniels' video report:
At Detroit Medical Center, doctors say they need blood products every single day for their diverse patient population. The shortage comes as donations continue to fall while demand rises across the region.
"We do have a diverse patient population requiring blood product transfusions daily. We see many patients with sickle cell anemia," said Tammon Nash, director of Detroit Medical Center System Blood Bank. "We have patients with leukemia and bone marrow transplant patients who require blood products often. We also see a lot of trauma patients as well as patients who are in the obstetrics department who are at risk for bleeds."
For donors like Thomas Cieslik, giving blood is personal. His father-in-law is battling acute myeloid leukemia and needs two platelet transfusions every couple of days.
"Well, I'm very fortunate to have retired at an early age, and I want to do something to get back to the community," Cieslik said. "My father-in-law is going through a rough time right now, and he needs basically 2 platelets every couple of days. He has AML, acute myeloid leukemia. I figure it might go to him. I'm sure it isn't, but I want to help out."
Emergency medicine physicians say most people never consider blood supply shortages until they're facing a crisis.
"No one would ever fathom that, oh, I can't give you blood because I don't have enough," said Dr. Lance Wells, an emergency medicine physician at Hillsdale Hospital.
For Jennifer Douglas, blood donors literally meant the difference between life and death. When she was 20 weeks pregnant, a ruptured aneurysm sent her into emergency surgery, where she lost massive amounts of blood.
"I was rushed into emergency surgery where I lost a massive amount of blood," Douglas said. "But because strangers had already donated, I was able to receive 13 units of blood, and that blood saved my life. It also saved the life of my unborn son."
Douglas said she wouldn't be alive today without those donations.
"I would not be alive today if that blood had not already been waiting for me," Douglas said. "My husband Andy would have been left alone to raise two little girls and a newborn baby boy."
The Red Cross says donating blood takes less than an hour, but that single donation can save up to three lives. Blood drives are happening throughout Southeast Michigan as officials work to rebuild the critical supply.
You can locate the closest donation site to you by using this link.
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