LEXINGTON, Ky. — According to the American Red Cross, someone needs blood every two seconds in the U.S.

What You Need To Know

  • January is National Blood Donor Month

  • The Kentucky Blood Center supports communities and hospitals in and around Lexington

  • Their donations are helping save lives after mass casualty incidents and at trauma centers

  • The center registered more than 85,000 donors and collected more than 66,000 red blood cell products in 2023 

However, Eric Lindsey of the Kentucky Blood Center said it takes less than an hour to save someone's life by donating.

“The message I love to get to folks is it's really easy from the time you walk in our doors for registration to the time you leave for refreshment," Lindsey said. "It only takes about 45 minutes."

The Kentucky Blood Center has eight permanent blood donation locations across the state and is experiencing a low supply of O-negative, a universal blood supply often in demand. Its donations are used in 70 hospitals in or bordering Kentucky. 

“Critical need means we have a day's supply or less to provide our local hospitals, which is not a place you want to be,” he said. “If you don't know much about blood donation, you think, 'Well, I might need blood one day when I'm in the hospital,' and that’s a worrisome number to think about.”

Recently, the Kentucky Blood Center was called in to help hospitals in need in Iowa after a school shooting.

When trauma scenarios happen, routine care and operations of local facilities also have to be considered. Trauma centers such as that of the University of Kentucky's Albert B. Chandler Hospital rely on nearly 40% of Kentucky Blood Center's products.

Andrew Bernard, professor of surgeries and medical director at the hospital's trauma center, said 21,000 units of red blood cells are helping patients.

"The blood can be divided into components, so if somebody needs red blood cells because they have anemia, we can give them that," he said.

One of the preventable yet common reasons patients die from their injuries is because of bleeding, Bernard said. 

“There is no substitute for blood," he said. "There's no drug; there's just nothing that can replace it. When somebody is bleeding, we are completely dependent upon some kind of donor giving their time, going and donating.”

The Kentucky Blood Center registered more than 85,000 donors and collected more than 66,000 red blood cell products in 2023. 

Correction: A previous version of this story stated incorrectly that the University of Kentucky’s Albert B. Chandler Hospital relies on nearly 20% of the Kentucky Blood Center’s products. This version has been corrected to reflect that the hospital relies on 40% of the blood center’s products. (Jan. 11,2024)

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