Aging Population May Tax Blood Reserves
Excerpt By Keith Mulvihill, Reuter's Health

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - As the population of older folks increases, the amount of blood kept on reserve for transfusions may fall short of demand, according to a new UK report.

The US is likely to face a similar predicament in the coming years as its population is also aging, a Red Cross expert told Reuters Health.

Blood transfusions for medical procedures such as surgery gobble up a large portion of blood stores. And the UK study has found that the bulk of people who require such blood transfusions are 65 and older.

In their investigation, A. W. Wells of the National Blood Service in Newcastle upon Tyne and colleagues found that the average age of a patient receiving a unit of blood was about 63.

The researchers conducted a month-long survey of 18 blood banks in northern England that serve a population of about 3 million people. They report their findings in the October 12th issue of the British Medical Journal.

Wells and colleagues estimate that blood demand in the geographical area they studied will increase by 2% in 2003 and nearly 5% in 2008.

"Small increases in the number of elderly people will have large effects on demand," the authors conclude.

The investigators suggest that some efforts can be made to lessen the demand on the need for blood such as perfecting surgical procedures that require less blood to be transfused.

Here in the US, Dr. Rita Reik of the American Red Cross in Washington, DC told Reuters Health, Americans can anticipate similar increased demand for blood as the number of people over age 65 rises.

People over 65 currently use about 38% of the blood supply, according to Reik. And, over the next decade, the number of people in the US over age 55 will increase by about 14%.

"By the year 2030, the population of people over the age of 65 years in the US will have doubled," Reik said. "This is the same population that will become ineligible to donate blood." Older adults tend to be sicker and are less able to donate, she noted.

Reik noted that the Red Cross is continuing to beef up efforts to increase blood donation, especially among younger people.

SOURCE: British Medical Journal 2002;325:803-804.

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