The next time you hear about a traffic accident where someone is seriously injured … think about this; a single crash can require doctors use up to 50 units of blood.

According to ImpactLife, about 62% of the U.S. population is eligible to give blood, but only about 3% donate at least once a year. Blood Center manager of Public Relations Kirby Winn says blood is needed for so many situations.

“It could be a patient in treatment for cancer, someone needing surgery, if there’s a trauma with blood loss and a patient comes into the emergency room, those are all reasons that don’t change because it’s winter weather outside, and that’s why this time of year, even though we might face cancelation of blood drives and loss of appointments related to weather, we always need to maintain a strong and stable inventory.” 

Winn says the blood center which serves OSF HealthCare strives to have a minimum 5-day supply of all blood types. It considers inventory “critically low” at less than a 2-day supply. ImpactLife currently has a 3-day supply of type O-negative, A-negative, and AB-negative red blood cells while other types are at higher levels.

ImpactLife has been hit by blood drive cancelations and hundreds of missed appointments due to winter weather so far this year. By early February, the blood center was working to recover the loss of more than 550 donations across its four-state service region. ImpactLife also provides blood components used by 26 air and ground ambulance services in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin.

According to Winn, considering the losses due to weather, inventory levels are holding up well. But he says the supply is just one big snowstorm from having a serious issue.

The number one reason people choose to give blood is their desire to help others, but the blood center hopes its Donor For Life rewards program can motivate additional donations as well.

Winn says there are several ways donors can benefit.

More than one reward option

“The way that it works is after giving blood, the donor will receive an email with a link to use to redeem for that electronic gift card to their choice of a variety of retailers and restaurants, places that we all know. Or they can choose those points to use in our reward store. Or finally, the option to give charitably to a nonprofit organization.”

Donors need to select the Good Giving option to receive information on how to direct their charitable donation.

ImpactLife also has an easy-to-use smart phone app that tracks reward points, helps donors find nearby donor centers and blood drives, track their donation history, view wellness info and prompt donors to give more often. The intent of the app is to keep current blood donors engaged and to attract new donors, which is especially important for the long-term stability of our region’s blood supply.

ImpactLife provides blood to more than 120 hospitals and emergency medical services teams in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin, including OSF HealthCare facilities. Winn says to meet patient needs for blood and blood components, the blood center requires more than 3,000 donations from volunteer blood donors every week.

In addition to allowing for easy sign-up to donate at a local blood drive, the app also stores important health information such as heart rate and what your blood pressure was for the last donation.

For more inspiration about how your donation can make a difference, watch Brianne’s story.

Sign up here for an ImpactLife account or download the ImpactLife app, which is available for both Android and Apple smart phones. 

Video clips with Kirby Winn

B-roll for blood bank app (ImpactLife)

A new CDC recommendation says all adults should be screened for hepatitis B at least once.

It's a reminder about a disease, that, thankfully, experts say we don't need to think about daily.

David Rzepczynski, MD, a gastroenterologist at OSF HealthCare in Urbana, Illinois, explains that while there are many types of hepatitis – A, B, C, D and E – they all describe inflammation of the liver.

How it’s spread

Dr. Rzepczynski says hepatitis B is most commonly spread through bodily fluids like blood, saliva and fluids from the genital area.

A common scenario, he says, is young adults spreading the disease by sharing needles to inject drugs. Sexual relations between people who are infected can also result in the spread.

And there are everyday scenarios. Someone may share a toothbrush or a shaving razor with a person close to them. Children may be roughhousing outside and get a cut, exposing their blood to others.

But Dr. Rzepczynski stresses hepatitis B doesn’t have to be a chief concern when, for example, your kids are at the playground. Just make sure they avoid contact with blood. And ideally, families, roommates and partners would know ahead of time if the people they are around have the virus or have been exposed.

Something else you don’t need to worry about in 2023: getting hepatitis B from donated blood.

“That’s almost nonexistent now,” Dr. Rzepczynski says, due to advances in testing.

“The blood bank works to evaluate a blood donation in terms of the risk of contracting and transmitting hepatitis B to another person,” Dr. Rzepczynski says. “Right now, the risk is maybe one out of a million.”

Symptoms

Not all people who get hepatitis B show symptoms. But those who get an acute, sudden infection may experience fatigue, nausea, loss of appetite, pain in the upper right abdomen and – for smokers – less desire to light up.

Dr. Rzepczynski says around 30% of people with acute hepatitis B develop jaundice, the hallmark symptom of liver disease.

“Yellow jaundice is a condition where the skin will have a yellowish tint to it. The whites of the eyes will have a yellowish tint to them,” Dr. Rzepczynski says. “Sometimes it can be very subtle. Depending on the light, you may not even notice it. The other extreme: a person might look like they’re ready for Halloween. They look like a pumpkin.”

The chief long-term effect of hepatitis B, in terms of decades, not months, Dr. Rzepczynski says, is cirrhosis of the liver, which can be life-threatening.

“When you develop scarring of the liver and there’s a buildup of scar tissue, you can develop a liver that’s shrunken in size. It’s not functioning as well because there’s a loss of liver cells from the scarring,” he says.

Interview clips

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