H3, Segment 1 - Red Cross reports critical blood shortage; callers discuss Dr. Fauci.

What this episode covers

Transcript Charlie James: Well, I don't know if you know it or not, but we've got a national emergency going on right now. Joining us is Jamie Rachel. She is with the American Red Cross of South Carolina Upstate Chapter. Jamie, welcome to the program. Thanks for joining us this afternoon. Charlie James: Jamie—wait a minute, hold on... Oh, there you are, Jamie. I'm sorry, I didn't have the button pushed. Welcome. Jamie Rachel: Oh, thank you! And thank you for having me on to be able to help spread the word about this serious blood crisis right now. Charlie James: We are in a—I mean, this is like the second time the Red Cross has declared a national shortage? Jamie Rachel: Ever in its history, yes. It's not unusual during the summer for blood supply to drop low just for, you know, reasons of school being out, vacations... but this year, it has fallen to a four-year low, resulting in hospitals falling down to a one-day supply or below of O-positive, which is the most frequently transfused type of blood. Charlie James: Yeah. Now, that's what—less than a day supply? I mean, that's... I mean, when you just—when you look at like, burn patients, they take a tremendous amount of blood, right? Jamie Rachel: Absolutely. And you think about accident victims... there's all kinds of emergency situations where people need blood, and they need it immediately. Charlie James: Yeah, you're exactly right. So, um... what would make Jamie Rachel happy? How much of a blood supply would make you go, "All right, good, we're good right now"? Jamie Rachel: Well, the best answer to that is that we are always needing blood. Hospitals are always needing blood. It is not something that can be manufactured; it's something that has a shelf life. And so, we just encourage folks, as often as they can, whenever they can, to give. And right now, folks, if you've never given blood before, maybe you're a little leery, a little frightening to do things for the first time... but there is nothing at this point right now that you could do that's more courageous than saving the life of someone. Giving blood so that you can actually save a life. Charlie James: Yeah, multiple lives! Because we hear that one blood donation can actually help save three lives, right? Jamie Rachel: Absolutely, it can. Yes, it absolutely can, really, depending on how much blood a person needs in a particular situation. Sometimes people need multiple units given the situation. Charlie James: And what the components are that sometimes they break the blood supply down to. So, these days, about how long does it take for somebody to go in, fill out the paperwork, give blood, and be on their way? Jamie Rachel: Well, you can speed up the process by going online and making an appointment. You can fill out the information ahead of time, answer all the questions ahead of time to speed up that process. Once you show up, you should be able, within a few minutes, to get back to the chair. Now, here in the Upstate, we have blood drives we call mobile blood drives, and so you can go online and find out where those blood drives are happening, sign up, and make an appointment. The locations welcome people from the public—whether it's a church, a school, or a business, if they're on our website, the public is welcome to sign up for those. Charlie James: Absolutely. So this is vital because, like you said, we can't manufacture it, we can't get it from anywhere but donations, and we are very, very low right now. How can folks find out more about blood donations and find out where the blood drives are? Jamie Rachel: Yes, they can go to redcrossblood.org/give, and the information will pop right up. You can click through and find out all the information about where to give, how to give, and all your questions that you might have. Charlie James: I would love to hear over the next couple of days that everybody gets the message, gets out there and gives blood, and we are no longer in a national emerg ...

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