RWJBarnabas Health asks public to donate blood in wake of national blood shortage

On Monday, Robert Wood Johnson Barnabas Health (RWJBarnabas) requested blood and platelet donations due to a shortage across the state spurred by a new variant of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), according to a press release.

The new, highly contagious and mutative strain, known as HV.1, currently makes up approximately 25 percent of COVID-19 cases in the U.S., according to U.S. News & World Report.

"The concern about the multitude of mutations is that it is likely, and it is possible, that there's versions of the virus that will be more evasive to the immunity that people have," Perry Halkitis, the dean of the School of Public Health, said to U.S. News & World Report.

The strain adds to the nationwide blood shortage announced by the American Red Cross on September 11 following Hurricane Idalia's impact on states in the Southeast. As of September, there was more blood needed in hospitals than donations received, according to the American Red Cross.

On campus, the Rutgers Blood Initiative works alongside RWJBarnabas to motivate young people to donate by bringing blood drives to accessible locations around campus.

"Although blood donation drops in winter months, the need for blood does not stop," Sally Wells, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital blood services business development liaison, said in the release. "One pint of blood can help save up to three lives. Donating blood this holiday season can be the gift of life for those in need."