According to their website, The Red Cross is experiencing the worst blood shortage in over a decade. While this affects everyone, it has a particularly severe impact on those actively receiving treatment for cancer. Matthew Bartock, DO, hematologist, Parkview Cancer Institute, explains why this patient population needs others to consider becoming a blood donor.
Why might a cancer patient need a blood transfusion?
There are numerous causes of low blood counts in our cancer patient population, including:
Chemotherapy, which can slow down the production of blood cells including red cells, platelets and white cells.
Radiation therapy, which is more commonly utilized in solid tumors but occasionally used with lymphomas or prior to bone marrow transplant, which can also slow down production of blood cells.
Other causes of anemia, or low red blood cells, such as nutritional deficiency, destruction of blood cells inside our bodies, blood loss from trauma or surgery, inherited genetic mutations that prevent formation of healthy red blood cells, and immune system factors, which can decrease production of red cells.
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