Region suffers blood donation shortage

Due to an unfortunate series of events that began in November, the Inland Northwest Blood Center has been unable to "bulk up" its blood supply.

INBC is the blood supplier for more than 35 hospitals in the region. In Kootenai County, INBC supplies blood to Kootenai Health, Northern Idaho Advanced Care Hospital and Northwest Specialty Hospital.

INBC spokeswoman Tesia Lingenfelter said a 2 percent decrease in blood donations is being seen nationwide as a result of the spreading Zika virus. A 28-day waiting period is in effect for donors who traveled to areas affected by the Zika virus, which include Central and South America, Mexico and the Caribbean.

While 2 percent across the board does not sound like a lot, she said INBC was already sitting on a low supply.

"Right now we are able to meet the day-to-day needs of our region," Lingenfelter said. "But we're not bulked up enough that if there were a large emergency we would feel prepared to handle it."

Lingenfelter said it started with the windstorm causing severe power outages in November. She said nobody was thinking about donating blood during that time because they were just trying to stay warm and fed. She said INBC lost a lot of donors during that time and had to cancel blood drives planned at schools because the schools were not in session. High school and college students make up about 35 percent of the donor base for INBC.

After the windstorm, with Thanksgiving and the December snow storms, the lack of donations continued.

"December in general is normally a slow time because students aren't in school and everyone is on vacation and focusing on their family," she said. "So we went into a normally slow time already depleted because we weren't able to bulk up our blood supply in November like we normally do."

January and February are typically when things pick up, she said, but between cold and flu season and the Zika virus, donations are still low.

Pat Collins, Kootenai Health Blood Bank Supervisor in Coeur d'Alene, said over the last month, Kootenai Health has seen a "slight delay" in the fulfillment of orders for certain blood types.

"However, there is no cause for alarm at this point," Collins said. "Especially since there is a surplus of the universal blood type O-negative, which patients with all blood types can receive if needed."

The delay is seen in the blood type B-positive, one of the more rare blood types, and anyone eligible is encouraged to donate.

The CDC website, updated March 2, shows 153 confirmed cases of the Zika virus across 29 states in the U.S., including one in Washington and one in Montana, but none in Idaho. All 153 cases are reportedly "travel-associated," meaning none of the cases were contracted in the U.S.

The virus is primarily spread through the bite of an infected mosquito, but can also be transmitted through blood or sexual contact. The most common symptoms are generally mild and include fever, rash, joint pain and conjunctivitis. The greatest concern is for pregnant women because the virus has been linked to a rare birth defect that results in an abnormally small head.

Lingenfelter said with the upcoming spring break, anyone eligible to donate should do so — especially if they are planning to travel.

In Coeur d'Alene, INBC is located at 405 W. Neider Ave. Suite 102. Information and hours are listed on the website at: inbcsaves.org

Kootenai Health also holds a blood drive every eight weeks at the hospital for employees and the public. Eligible donors are encouraged to attend the next blood drive March 18.