blood supply

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America's Blood Supply Is at 'Critically Low Levels'

Red Cross blames 'back-to-back months of worsening climate-related disasters'

(Newser) - The American Red Cross has announced a national blood shortage, warning that the US blood supply is at "critically low levels." The Red Cross said the national blood supply is down almost 25% from early last month, partly due to "back-to-back months of worsening climate-related disasters" that...

US Facing 'National Crisis' on Blood Supply

Red Cross is warning of 'severe blood shortage' around the nation

(Newser) - "Every two seconds, someone in the US needs blood," per the American Red Cross. Now, however, "crucial patient care" is getting pushed off thanks to what the group says is a "severe blood shortage" nationwide, per the New York Times . In a release issued June 14,...

Scientists Learn Why Labor Contractions Grow Stronger

They call the phenomenon 'hypoxia-induced force increase'

(Newser) - The general course of child labor is well documented, but many mysteries—such as what starts labor in the first place—persist. Now scientists at the University of Liverpool say they've discovered what causes contractions to strengthen during labor, even though the tightening uterine muscle squeezes blood vessels, thereby...

US May Allow Gay Men to Donate Blood Again

1985 ban out of date, advocates argue

(Newser) - A quarter-century after the US started barring gay men from donating blood, Department of Health and Human Services experts are deciding whether to lift the lifetime ban, HealthDay News reports. The policy was instituted in 1985, as public consciousness of HIV/AIDS grew. "There was good reason for it, based...

Virus Tied to Fatigue, HIV May Be in Blood Supply

Feds unsure whether XMRV actually poses a threat, but probe ongoing

(Newser) - Public health officials are calmly but vigilantly pursuing a possible new threat to the nation’s blood supply linked to prostate cancer and chronic fatigue syndrome. The virus, dubbed XMRV for the awful-sounding xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus, may be present in the blood of 4% of Americans, and was...

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