The FDA has added sodium citrate tubes, used to collect blood specimens, to its list of medical supplies and devices in shortage.
The agency said June 10 the U.S. is experiencing "significant interruptions" in the supply of the tubes due to an increase in demand and vendor supply challenges. It is urging providers to use the tubes only when medically necessary and to try to find alternatives when possible.
Meanwhile, AABB — a nonprofit representing transfusion medicine and biotherapies — America's Blood Centers and the American Red Cross are urging people to donate blood now and throughout the summer as hospital need increases.
"As the nation resumes some level of normalcy with progress in our battle against the pandemic, hospital need for blood is increasing. The majority of hospitals have resumed nonessential surgeries, and patients throughout the U.S. are resuming treatment options that include the use of blood and blood components that were postponed during the past year. These factors and more have led to a rise both in the number of patients who need blood — and an increased need for eligible individuals to donate," the organizations wrote in a June 11 joint statement.