Blood Donation - Storage, Supply and Demand

Storage, Supply and Demand

The collected blood is usually stored as separate components, and some of these have short shelf lives. There are no storage solutions to keep platelets for extended periods of time, though some are being studied as of 2008. The longest shelf life used for platelets is seven days. Red blood cells, the most frequently used component, have a shelf life of 35–42 days at refrigerated temperatures. This can be extended by freezing the blood with a mixture of glycerol but this process is expensive, rarely done, and requires an extremely cold freezer for storage. Plasma can be stored frozen for an extended period of time and is typically given an expiration date of one year and maintaining a supply is less of a problem.

The limited storage time means that it is difficult to have a stockpile of blood to prepare for a disaster. The subject was discussed at length after the September 11th attacks in the United States, and the consensus was that collecting during a disaster was impractical and that efforts should be focused on maintaining an adequate supply at all times. Blood centers in the U.S. often have difficulty maintaining even a three day supply for routine transfusion demands.

The World Health Organization recognizes World Blood Donor Day on 14 June each year to promote blood donation. This is the birthday of Karl Landsteiner, the scientist who discovered the ABO blood group system. The theme of the 2012 World Blood Donor Day campaign, "Every blood donor is a hero" focuses on the idea that everyone can become a hero by giving blood. As of 2008, the WHO estimated that more than 81 million units of blood were being collected annually.