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.

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Know your risk for hepatitis

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As many as 2 billion people worldwide will be exposed to hepatitis B during their lifetime, says David Rzepczynski, MD, a gastroenterologist at OSF HealthCare in Urbana, Illinois. Around 250 million people have chronic inflammation of the liver from hepatitis B or are carriers of the virus without inflammation. And around 890,000 people will die from hepatitis B. Asia and Africa are hepatitis B hotspots, Dr. Rzepczynski says, while the United States doesn’t have it as bad.

The statistics might make eyeballs widen, but Dr. Rzepczynski says they are not a reason to panic.

“The majority of people who get exposed to hepatitis B in the adult age – after age 10 – it’s typically a condition you recover from without chronic inflammation,” he says.

The reason for the optimism? There’s a vaccine for hepatitis B that’s been around since the 1980s.

“There has been an aggressive program of initiating vaccines with kids, sometimes even as young as infants, to have protection,” Dr. Rzepczynski says. “And when those [vaccines] are administered at a young age, it’s a highly effective vaccination. This vaccination has an efficacy of 95%-plus in the general population.”

The three-shot series is sometimes given soon after birth due to concerns that the mother may pass along hepatitis B to their child. But older children and adults can and should get the vaccine, too.

A hepatitis B immune globulin shot (HBIG for short) may also be appropriate in cases of hepatitis B exposure, either in adults or newborns. The particles in the shot attack the virus.

The next best way to avoid hepatitis B is to avoid risky behaviors.

Don’t share needles, toothbrushes or any other object that can transfer bodily fluids. Practice safe sexual relations. And if you’re bleeding, bandage it up right away.

Treatment

Dr. Rzepczynski says blood tests and watching symptoms can gauge how the virus is behaving. That will determine whether the person just needs monitoring. Or the patient may need medical treatment to suppress the virus and prevent cirrhosis of the liver. These medicines are taken by mouth, and side effects are generally not significant. A vaccine to eliminate hepatitis B hasn’t been discovered yet.

Treatment plans for hepatitis B may be life-long.

“If you stop taking the medicine, it’s like taking the brakes off the system,” Dr. Rzepczynski explains. “The virus will end up reactivating. And in fact, that reactivation might cause liver failure because the virus level skyrockets. And your body’s immune system senses that and starts attacking the liver to get rid of the virus. And that can lead to very serious and acute inflammation of the liver.”

Should I test?

Dr. Rzepczynski says a blood test for hepatitis B isn’t something that constantly needs to be on the mind of the average person. But the following people should consider getting tested:

·       People who come from areas of the world with a high prevalence of hepatitis B

·       Pregnant women

·       If you plan to donate blood or organs

·       People who’ve had an exposure to the virus

·       People getting chemotherapy for cancer treatment

That last one is something medical professionals have looked closely at in the last five years.

“Unfortunately, some of these powerful cancer agents also have the ability to affect the immune system in such a way that a person who’s had hepatitis B and maybe even has gotten over it can have a reactivation of hepatitis B when these particular agents are used,” Dr. Rzepczynski says.

In that case, your cancer doctor would alter the treatment to allow it to proceed without the hepatitis B risk.

Be proactive

If you have questions about hepatitis B, want to get the vaccine or think you may have been exposed to the virus, talk to your primary care provider right away. The OSF HealthCare and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention websites also have information on hepatitis.

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Know your risk for hepatitis

Importance of vaccinations

Common gastrointestinal ailments are a pain, but treatable