UNO Professor Finds Donated Blood Went Unused After Mass Shooting

A new study shows a spike in blood donations after the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting was more than hospitals needed – so much so that 17 percent of the blood went unused.

The study co-authored by Justin Nix, assistant professor in the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, and four colleagues is now available online ahead of its print inclusion in the "Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery."

Nix and his fellow researchers collected data from healthcare, public safety and law enforcement agencies for the study.

They learned 500 units of blood were transfused the day of the shooting. Donors gave nearly 800 units of blood the day following the shooting, and roughly 17 percent of those units went unused. In other words, the blood that hospitals needed was already on-hand and the public call for donations led to an influx of more than they could use.

"People just want to help after a mass casualty event, but we found giving blood in that first day or two after the incident might not be the best approach," Nix said. "The value of this study is that it gives us some insight into how communities can better handle these kinds of situations: encourage routine blood donation, provide training in hemorrhage control and develop a plan for the wave of blood donors that will step up to help, even if their blood may not be needed to help with that specific situation."

Among other takeaways, the researchers recommend public officials hold off on encouraging blood donation after a crisis unless local blood suppliers approve the message.