Michelle Johnson, the American Red Cross account manager for donor recruitment in Southeast Missouri, circles back to a single word when describing the current level of blood donations in the region: bad.

"It's been especially bad this year," Johnson told "Cape Chronicle" local public access television program Thursday.

"When I first started working for the Red Cross, we were at 8% of the population donating. We are now down to less than 3%. With COVID, it has been especially bad."

Drilling down

Johnson said the lingering impact of the pandemic has made the work of staging successful blood drives difficult.

"We collect 20% of our blood from high schools and colleges. Some schools have not wanted anybody from the outside to come onto campus, which is understandable," she said. "Companies may not want someone to come in and due a blood drive due to COVID, so they've been canceling. I do think there is a fear out there and people think someone else will go and donate and [blood] will be there when I need it but that's not really happening right now."

Need

In a news release this week, the Washington, D.C.-based humanitarian not-for-profit organization founded in 1881, said the blood shortage has caused its supply to drop to the lowest post-summer level in at least six years.

"Usually in October, our blood supplies are doing pretty well because of the schools, but this year, it's not," reported Johnson. "We have less than half a day of Type O blood on the shelves. We have an emergency need for all types, but especially O-positive and O-negative."

How to help

Johnson said a blood donor may schedule an appointment through www.redcrossblood.org/give or by calling (800) RED-CROSS.

"We have something called "Rapid Pass" on redcrossblood.org," she said.

Using Rapid Pass, a donor can answer the required personal health history questions before getting to the donation site, which Johnson said can save a donor 15 minutes at the blood drive itself.

"You can save, potentially, the lives of three people with a single donation," she said.

Fast Facts

• Nearly 25% of ARC's blood supply is used by cancer patients. Patients with breast cancer and other forms of the disease may need blood products on a regular basis during chemotherapy, surgery or in treatment for complications.
• Nationally, ARC said there is less than a day's supply of certain blood types on hand.
• An estimated 10,000 additional blood products are needed each week in October to meet hospital and patient needs.