Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

For the past several decades there has been a significant shortage of blood donation during summer months in the US. Each summer the American Red Cross (ARC) issues warnings on the dangers of such shortages and initiates campaigns to increase blood donation. Analysts believe this shortage is caused by the typical increase in traveling during summer months which reduces the number of occasional and first-time donors. Also, a significant decrease in the number of students on college campuses, who are an important supplier of blood, exacerbates the shortage. Meanwhile, there are no policies in place to address seasonal blood shortage in the country. This paper, uses ARC's state-level dataset of blood donation from 2000 to 2017, categorized by gender and race, to investigate the potential causes of summer blood shortage and ways to eliminate the shortage. By using a state-level negative binomial fixed effect regression model we show that the shortage is solely derived from a decrease in non-Caucasian donation during summer. We then discuss that lower number of non-Caucasian students on college campuses during summer months is a potential source of the shortage. Finally, the paper will offer guidelines for adopting policies and targeted programs to increase non-Caucasian blood donation during summer months.