The blood supply in the Kansas City area has dropped to less than a two-day supply, according to the Community Blood Center of Greater Kansas City.
Chelsey Smith, outreach and communications coordinator for the Community Blood Center, said at Thursday’s news conference at the University of Kansas Health System that the normal supply is about seven days.
“It’s not something we have words for,” Smith said. She hasn’t ever seen the blood supply this low, she said.
Smith said it is safe to donate blood at the Community Blood Center, and safety procedures have been added. They are checking temperatures at the door for staff and donors, she said. They have masks for donors and volunteers at all times. Spacing is at least 6 feet apart, she added. Extra cleaning and disinfecting is taking place. Everything a donor touches is cleaned as they leave, she said.
The blood center currently is operating on an appointment preferred schedule now, she added. The center is requesting donors to make appointments. Walk-ins are accepted as capacity allows, she said.
Prospective donors should check with their doctors or visit the donation guidelines online at https://savealifenow.org/ to see if a medication they are taking would affect their eligibility to donate, she added. Some people who are older than 60 or who have a medical condition could be eligible to donate.
Smith said it usually takes 45 minutes to an hour to donate blood.
Blood drives in the community are open Mondays through Fridays, while the seven CBC donor centers are open seven days a week, she said.
One of the upcoming blood drives will be held from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, June 24-26, at the KU Medical Center Health Education Building, she said.
Before COVID-19, the Community Blood Center was collecting 70 percent of the donation on blood drives, but many of the blood drives were canceled. They are very limited in the places they are allowed to go now, she said. The seven donor sites are open seven days a week for donations, she added.
“The need is incredibly urgent right now,” Smith said. “Blood donors literally save lives.”
Also at the news conference on Thursday were medical officers and executives from three institutions, Truman Medical Center, Advent Health and Liberty Health.
In general, the three saw a decline in the COVID-19 positive cases, followed by a small uptick in cases last week. The KU Health System also saw a similar pattern.
The three health medical officers, Dr. Mark Steele of Truman, Dr. Larry Botts of Advent, and Dr. Raghu Adiga of Liberty, also said they have noticed fewer people wearing masks in public recently.
Dr. Botts said people need to continue to be vigilant as COVID-19 isn’t going away. Less than 50 percent of the people he sees while out in the community are wearing masks, he said. Masks, hand-washing and social distancing need to be continued, he said.
Dr. Steele said when two infected hair stylists worked on about 140 clients in Springfield, Missouri, the disease didn’t spread because the stylists were wearing masks, which points to the importance of masks.
Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control with KU Health System, said some people are listening to unproven rumors on social media about COVID-19, while they are not paying as much attention to what the doctors know works, which is physical distancing, proper hygiene and mask wearing.
Dr. Adiga said the trend toward an increase in cases in America is concerning. The nation never flattened to where it wanted to be, he added.
KU Health System reported 19 COVID-19 patients at the hospital on Thursday morning, an increase of one from Wednesday. Seven of the COVID-19 patients were in the intensive care unit, and six were on ventilators. The hospital discharged three patients in the past day, while admitting some new patients.
Wyandotte County reported 1,766 total positive cumulative cases on Thursday at 1 p.m., compared to 1,726 cases on Wednesday at 1 p.m., an increase of 40 cases. There was one more death, for a cumulative total of 77 deaths.
To view the KU doctors’ news conference, visit https://www.facebook.com/kuhospital/videos/962736207507435/.
To see upcoming Community Blood Center blood drives and schedule an appointment, visit https://savealifenow.org/ or call 816-753-4040.
Test sites are listed on the Wyandotte County website at https://wyandotte-county-covid-19-hub-unifiedgov.hub.arcgis.com/pages/what-to-do-if-you-think-you-have-covid-19
The state’s COVID-19 test page is at https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/280/COVID-19-Testing
The UG’s COVID-19 information page is at https://alpha.wycokck.org/Coronavirus-COVID-19-Information.
Wyandotte County is currently under Phase 3. See covid.ks.gov.
The state plan’s frequently asked questions page is at https://covid.ks.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Reopening-FAQ_5.19.2020_Final.pdf.
The CDC’s COVID-19 web page is at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html.