New medical technology and treatment have changed the need for blood.
"A couple of years ago, a blood transfusion may have been needed for a certain surgery, whereas today it’s not, simply because procedures are less invasive than they once were,” said Susan Forbes, vice president of marketing and communications for OneBlood.
With hospitals using less blood, the way blood banks do business is changing, too. Forbes says the new era in blood banking has OneBlood working with hospital partners on better blood management, including showing hospitals how to use less blood.
“A couple of years ago, we probably never would’ve thought that we would be in a day where we’re encouraging people to use less of our product," she said.
But Forbes says it’s a win-win.
"[It] helps patients have a better outcome, it helps hospitals mitigate their cost because they're not using as much blood,” Forbes said. “And for the blood center, it’s great for us, because we don’t see the blood shortages as often as we may have in the past."
Medical experts stress the need for blood and the need for blood donors is still very real.
"The urgency has not changed; there is still a need for blood every day,” Forbes said. “It saves people’s lives, cancer patients, trauma patients, premature babies, sickle cell patients, open heart surgeries. The list goes on and on of the people who need blood."