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At Red Cross, more than 3,000 blood drive workers in 25 local unions are currently working without, or under expired contracts.

FDA reports indicate that Red Cross compliance problems are frequently linked to issues such as staffing, training, and workloads. For years, Red Cross workers have been saying that they believe safety errors on the job are linked to working conditions, including understaffing, inadequate training, and workload.

Tell Red Cross to respect workers’ rights and invest in safety.   Please join us by SIGNING THE PETITION!

In recent years, blood drive safety and staffing have become a point of contention between the American Red Cross and its workers because safety and staffing are such important elements of their working conditions.

We seek to engage those hosting blood drives, such as high schools, churches, and other community members, so that they will have the tools and information they need to improve safety at their blood drives.

With Red Cross receiving $37 million in FDA fines, and FDA inspections that report problems in areas such as staffing, training, and incomplete investigations of reactions and injuries, we believe it is important for blood drive sponsors to consider steps for improving safety.

Key safety recommendations that we advocate for every blood drive are:

1. Assignment of at least one licensed nurse to every blood drive.
2. Adequate staffing of all blood drives.
3. At high school drives, enforcement of height and weight eligibility requirements for teen donors.
4. Thorough assessment and investigation of all major adverse reactions and injuries sustained at blood drives.
5. Blood drive setup that protects privacy and provides extra safety precautions at high schools.
6. Know your blood drive operator’s safety record so you are aware of problems that may arise.

The American Red Cross has adopted a patchwork staffing system with inconsistencies.  For example, in some areas, high school blood drives are likely to be staffed by multiple RNs or licensed nurses.  In other areas, Red Cross operates high school blood drives with no licensed nurses.  We believe that if a donor has a major adverse reaction or injury, it is important to have a licensed medical professional who is on-site to provide care.

The American Red Cross should adopt, publicize and enforce a consistent policy for all blood drives that reflects best safety practices, and we are here to encourage this.

Today’s front page story of the Philadelphia Inquirer is an in-depth look at the new American Red Cross centers in Philadelphia and Charlotte NC. These new centers were meant to

“consolidate a crucial part of its blood business – making sure donated blood is safe and recalling it if there is any doubt.”

An FDA Inspection Of the centers last fall found “dysfunction and disorder.” Check out the full article for all of the details, but here are a few of the highlights:

“But the Food and Drug Administration’s first — and so far only — inspection last fall found dysfunction and disorder at the new centers. Both sites had “chronic” understaffing, inadequate training, quality-assurance lapses, and ineffective management, even though the consolidation had been done gradually over two years ending in March 2010, according to inspectors for the FDA, which regulates the collection and screening of blood.”

This, after the 1993 federal court ordering the Red Cross to

“improve the way it collects, processes, and tracks blood.  The order, called a consent decree was amended in 2003. Since then, the FDA has fined the Red Cross $37 million [emphasis ours] for persistent lapses.”

Additionally,

“Although she would not comment on the inspection report, Mary Malarkey, an FDA compliance office director, said the Red Cross has made progress toward complying with the consent decree.”

What is really interesting is that the workers are aware of these problems, and they too want them fixed!

“In May, for example, Penn-jersey nurses and other workers staged a threeweek [sic] strike to protest what they saw as inadequate staffing levels, inconsistent training, and unreasonably long shifts, among other contract issues.”

The Workers Committee for Blood Safety includes licensed nurses, phlebotomists, and blood drive staff with extensive experience with donor’s safety at high school, and community blood drives.  Blood drive coordinators need to take an active role in ensuring that the best safety practices are followed at high school and community blood drives.  To learn more about how you can ensure that your community blood drive is meeting the highest safety standards, please check out the website at Keep Blood Drives Safe.