Gridlock worries spur blood supply measures
Guardians of the region's blood supply are relocating donation sites and setting up alternative delivery routes to ensure that the Democratic National Convention will not disrupt surgeries, emergencies, and other medical needs during the last week of July.
Blood donations typically languish during summer, and collections this month are estimated to be 15 percent lower than in October, the peak for the past year. But authorities fear that with workers being advised to stay home during the July 26-29 convention, the annual drop-off could be even more pronounced at a time when there's usually just a one-day cushion of blood or even less.
"Most of our blood is collected at companies and factories, and when we have people saying, 'Take vacation that week,' those donors may not be there for us during that time period," said Dr. Richard Benjamin, chief medical officer of American Red Cross Blood Services-New England Region. "And that's going to be tough."
Across Boston's sprawling medical landscape, plans are unfolding to cope with the anticipated gridlock from afternoon and evening road closings prompted by the convention. Clinic appointments are being scheduled earlier in the day, visits are being shifted to suburban offices, and at least two hospitals have reserved dormitory rooms for workers and, in one case, patients.
Because of concern about the blood supply, the Red Cross and hospitals that collect blood are trying to encourage donations before the convention. They are also crafting plans to fly blood from other parts of the country into airports other than Logan, wary that the 40 percent of donations that come from out of town by air could get stranded in traffic. During the convention, that blood will arrive at Providence and Hartford airports and be driven to Red Cross offices in Dedham.
If blood stocks dwindle at one hospital, paramedics may be enlisted to ferry blood from medical centers with surpluses, said Betsy Stengel, executive director of the Conference of Boston Teaching Hospitals, an umbrella group.
Blood drives are being shifted, too. The Red Cross is moving one donation campaign from the Faneuil Hall Marketplace neighborhood to the South Shore. Conversely, Massachusetts General Hospital will concentrate collection efforts in the city that week to lessen chances that its blood mobile will get stuck when returning from the suburbs.
On a typical day, Mass. General has 600 to 700 units of red blood cells available.
"We will make sure during the week preceding the convention that our blood supply is built up to a good level, so that if there is a delay in deliveries or a sudden influx of patients, we'll be in a good position to deal with it," said Dr. Christopher Stowell, director of the blood transfusion service at Mass. General.
As donations lag in summer, so do reserves of blood. In the four states covered by the New England branch of the American Red Cross Blood Services -- Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine -- there is currently a one-day supply, the equivalent of about 1,500 units.
Authorities prefer to have enough blood to cover three to five days of demand at the more than 170 hospitals that receive Red Cross supplies.
This month, the Red Cross expects to collect 27,500 units, compared with 32,300 last October. To supplement the region's collections, about 100,000 units each year arrive via air and road from outside New England.
Samples of each donation are tested for HIV, West Nile virus, and 13 other diseases. The Red Cross is reviewing the best way to ensure that those samples continue to reach the Philadelphia laboratory that does the testing during the convention.
To donate blood, call 800-448-3543.
Stephen Smith can be reached at stsmith@globe.com.
