America's blood supply is critically low. In fact, it's the lowest we've seen blood inventory for more than a year.
That means vital blood products may not be available for surgeries, accidents and other crises.
Blood drives are an important source of vital blood and blood products, but those drives at high schools and colleges still haven't bounced back to pre-pandemic levels. Experts say that's a major source of the current shortage.
At the University of Michigan, signs are going up for the fall blood drive. Members of the student-run University Blood Initiative are trying to get the word out about the importance of blood donation and get classmates to roll up their sleeves.
While students are responsible for planning, organizing and marketing, the UBI partners with Versiti Blood Centers of Michigan.
They arrive in force with all of the equipment to set up the blood collection space, including specialized chairs, cold packs, tape, gloves, screens and phlebotomists to carry out the collection.
The goal is to raise awareness and make donating convenient.
"Instead of making your schedule fit the blood drive. So it definitely does help with, 'oh, I have class or I have work to do,'" Sophia Liang with the UBI said.
"It's not like they're against blood donations. It's doesn't fit with their schedule or they don't know about it," Arul Rajeswaran added.
That's the key, because students play a critical role in maintaining America's blood supply. Kaila DiNallo, with Versiti, said students account for 25% of what the organization collects each year.
She said the pandemic's pause in in-person activities disrupted the recruitment and training of high school and college students.
"Groups and organizations that used to host four and six times a year may now only be hosting once or twice as a annual give back event," she said.
She says there are a number of reasons why. Some school areas were repurposed during the pandemic and still used for class space. Some student groups aren't as organized or active, having lost years of leadership and know-how.
In Michigan, you can donate blood at 17 years old, 16 with parental permission. It takes about an hour. 38% of the US population is eligible to donate but only 5% actually give. DiNallo says it's crucial to start early, or risk losing these potential young donors for 10-20 years.
"If we don't capture donors young, we typically don't see donors until they're established, which we deemed about 35 years old," DiNallo said.
Back at the University of Michigan, students are doing their part getting the word out that the one-hour donation can save three lives
"We do have a great impact on the community an that's why we work so hard for blood drives," Arjeswaran said.
We're coming up to a time when donations naturally drop. The holidays are just a few weeks away and many of us take vacation time, and churches are too busy to host blood drives.
It's around this time that non-profits like Versiti offer incentives or thanks you to encourage blood donations. They also offer those thank yous to students.
