America is facing a severe crisis in the blood supply
The American Red Cross has announced that there is a severe blood supply shortage that the United States has not experienced in more than 10 years.
The statement indicated that the Red Cross has witnessed a 10% decrease in the number of blood donors since the beginning of Covid-19, which has exacerbated the problem, especially after the increase in cases of the Omicron mutant and before that, Delta.
"This crisis poses a threat to patient care, which may force clinicians to make difficult decisions about prioritizing patients," said Dr. Bambi Young, chief medical officer of the Red Cross.
She added: "Amidst this crisis, doctors will have to deal with critical cases that need blood transfusions and postpone those who can wait, stressing the urgent need to donate blood, in order to help prevent the deterioration of cases that need blood transfusions.
Young added, "Hospitals are still receiving people who suffer from blood diseases, such as sickle cell disease patients, as well as people who suffer from serious diseases, such as patients with cancerous tumors, in addition to accident victims, all of whom need blood transfusions.
The crisis comes at a time when the United States is busy fighting the outbreak of the mutant omicron, as the number of people infected with the mutant reached about 1.34 million cases on Monday, according to a "NBC News" count.