pharmaceutical · input
Volunteer-donated whole blood separated into red blood cells (42-day shelf life), platelets (5-7 day shelf life), and fresh frozen plasma; American Red Cross supplies 40% of US whole blood; platelet shelf life creates permanent just-in-time fragility
3
Source countries
3
Companies
1
Goods affected
0
Claims on record
What depends on it
1 essential American goods rely on whole blood (volunteer donation) somewhere upstream in their supply chain.
Where it comes from
Share of global supply, by country.
| Country | Share of supply |
|---|---|
| USUnited States | 25% |
| DEGermany | 6% |
| GBUnited Kingdom | 5% |
Who makes it
3 companies produce whole blood (volunteer donation).
Largest US blood services organization; supplies 40% of US whole blood and blood components (red blood cells, platelets, plasma) from volunteer-only donations; does not perform commercial plasma fractionation; declared severe shortage after 35% supply drop in January 2026
Vitalant (Scottsdale AZ; nonprofit 501(c)(3); formed by merger of Blood Systems, United Blood Services, and BloodSource in 2017-2019; ~$800M revenue) is the largest nonprofit blood bank in the US by number of donation centers — operating 120+ donation centers and serving 850+ hospitals across 28 states. Vitalant collects approximately 30% of US whole blood supply. Vitalant's geographic strength is the US Mountain West, Southwest, and Pacific Northwest — regions served by relatively few large blood centers. Vitalant's formation through the merger of multiple regional blood banks was driven by economies of scale in blood processing, testing, and distribution. Vitalant introduced blood delivery by drone (Zipline partnership) for remote hospital delivery in Rwanda before US regulatory approval.
New York Blood Center Enterprises (New York NY; nonprofit; formed 2019 by merger of NYBC + New England region blood centers + Southeast region; ~$700M revenue) is one of the largest US blood bank organizations — supplying blood to 200+ hospitals in New York, New Jersey, New England, and Southeast states. NYBC operates the New York City metropolitan area blood supply — one of the most complex transfusion medicine markets in the world. NYBC's research division has done foundational work in blood storage duration and transfusion outcomes. NYBC holds the blood supply contracts for Memorial Sloan Kettering, NYU Langone, and most major NYC hospital systems. In 2024, NYBC faced controversy when its lease for a Harlem community blood center — historically serving Black blood donors critical for sickle cell disease patients — was ended; advocates argued this reduced access to race-matched donors for sickle cell community.
