The coronavirus is creating yet another type of crisis — a shortage of blood donors.
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MSN reports that the American Red Cross is now facing a severe blood shortage due to an unprecedented number of blood drive cancellations during this coronavirus outbreak.
The American Red Cross is urging healthy, eligible individuals to schedule a blood or platelet donation appointment today. Donating blood a single time may help save the lives of up to three people. Still, less than 10% of the U.S. population eligible to donate blood actually does so every year.
If you’re in good health, you should seriously consider it for two reasons: You can help save someone’s life and enhance your own health at the same time. That’s because repeated blood donations may help your blood to flow better, reduce viscosity, and possibly help to limit damage to the lining of your blood vessels, which may result in fewer arterial blockages.
You can also get a free “mini physical” just before donating to check your blood pressure, hemoglobin and temperature, along with testing for 13 infectious diseases.
For each unit of blood donated, you will lose about one-quarter of a gram of iron, which is one of the best ways to avoid the health risks associated with iron overload.
Your body has a limited capacity to excrete iron, so it can easily build up in and damage organs like your liver, heart and pancreas. Excess iron also accelerates every major disease. Giving blood alleviates that excess iron.
Iron is essential for life as it transports oxygen in your body, helps regulate cell growth, maintains brain function, metabolism and endocrine function and is involved in energy production and immune function.
Having either too much or too little iron can have serious repercussions. While iron deficiency is commonly checked for, iron overload is actually a far more common problem, yet is often overlooked or ignored.
You know who else can give blood? Your dog.
Just as humans are susceptible to the coronavirus, so is man’s best friend.
And, like humans, dogs sometimes need blood transfusions and those blood donations must come from other healthy dogs with a compatible blood type.
Criteria for canine blood donors varies by state in the U.S., so if you’d like your dog to be a donor, check with your local veterinarian, emergency animal hospital or veterinary hospital.
Dogs must meet certain criteria to give blood, which will rule out lots of dogs. Dogs who meet all the criteria undergo extensive blood screening tests and a physical exam. The diagnostic tests are valued at about $600 per dog, so owners are required to commit to six to eight blood donations per year.