Summertime means “trauma season” in the medical world, but U hospitals are falling behind on their supply of blood just when it is in highest demand.
With a 384 percent increase in blood demand for trauma patients since last year, ARUP Blood Services is reaching out to the community by hosting a community blood drive Wednesday.
“It’s an ugly time right now,” said Karen Nielsen, vice president and group manager for ARUP, in a statement. “Trauma season has already been terrible, and we’re not even halfway through the summer.”
Volunteers and staff will collect blood from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the 23rd Floor Event Center at Wells Fargo Center downtown.
ARUP provides all the blood used at the U Hospital, Huntsman Cancer Hospital, Primary Children’s Medical Center and Shriners Hospitals for Children, said Lance Bandley, spokesperson for ARUP.
Trauma patients usually go through 25 to 30 units of blood during an average week, Bandley said, but the hospitals and centers that ARUP works with require 100 donors per day to meet the needs of patients they serve.
“June has been really hard this year,” Bandley said. “Summer and winter are the two toughest times of the year because we lose the high school blood drives. They usually contribute 30 percent of our drives.”