Healthcare

Red Cross Blames ‘Climate-Driven Disasters’ For National Blood Shortage

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The American Red Cross warned that the U.S. is facing a nationwide blood shortage, and cited “climate-driven disasters” as one of the reasons why, in a statement released Monday.

The national blood supply has dropped 25% to “critically low levels” since early August, creating an “emergency need” for donors, according to the Red Cross. The organization cited ” worsening climate-driven disasters” as one of the causes of the shortages, and said it is “closely monitoring” the path of Hurricane Lee as it could impact the northeast U.S. later this week.

“Back-to-back months of worsening climate-driven disasters have further strained the blood supply, resulting in blood drive cancelations and reducing much-needed blood and platelet donations in affected areas,” the statement reads. “Donors of all blood types are urgently needed.”

In a separate section on the organization’s website, the Red Cross says that more “frequent and intense disasters… are the result of our changing climate.” In a separate press release from 2021, the Red Cross refers to climate change as a “humanitarian crisis.”

While appearing to reference several “climate-driven disasters” taking place over the last few months in their statement, the Red Cross only makes note of the destruction of one such disaster, Hurricane Idalia, which made landfall in the southeast last week, according to the statement. Hurricane Lee, which has wavered between category 3 and category 5 strength, could put further strain on the supply crisis as it moves closer to the East Coast, according to the Red Cross.

Beyond the hurricanes, the Red Cross also cited the busy travel season and back-to-school activities as causes for the national shortage and low donor turnout, according to the statement. The national blood supply was short by approximately 30,000 donations in August.

Mainstream media outlets have started to claim climate change is causing hurricane formation to become more frequent, despite scientists finding no major changes in hurricane activity in well over a century. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) found no “statistically significant” increase in hurricanes from 1978 to 2006.

The American Red Cross did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.