Red Cross Seeks Latino Blood Donors

Officials with the American Red Cross and the Los Angeles Unified School District are expected to announce today a campaign to increase blood donations from Latinos, more than half of whom have the versatile type O blood.

The campaign will include Spanish-language billboards and TV advertisements targeting Latinos, who historically have been averse to donating blood, said Julie Juliusson, a spokeswoman for the Red Cross in Los Angeles.

In emergencies, O-positive blood can be transfused for any positive blood type; O-negative blood is called the universal type because it can be transfused for any blood type, positive or negative.

In Southern California, 4% of non-Latino whites donate blood, compared with 1% of Latinos, Red Cross data show.

“We import about 40% of our blood from other regions. Los Angeles has the fifth-largest Hispanic population in the world. If Hispanics donated at the rate of Caucasians, our blood supply need would be absolutely met,” Juliusson said. “This campaign is a main component to becoming more self-sufficient as a region.”

Nearly 60% of Latinos have type O blood, compared with about 45% for the rest of the population, officials said. But a host of cultural barriers and fears and the lack of institutionalized blood donation in Latin American countries have limited the number of Latino donors, Juliusson said.

Latin American countries “really haven’t embraced the idea of a community blood supply,” she said. “A lot of times in Mexico, people don’t donate blood unless a friend or family member needs it.”

Though Asians, as a group, donate at a lower rate than Latinos, Juliusson said Latinos make up a much larger percentage of Southern California’s population, so their impact on the blood supply is greater.

Red Cross officials say they have heard a number of myths and misconceptions in the Latino community regarding giving blood that may have had a deterrent effect on donations.

Some prospective donors worry that Red Cross workers will question their immigration status, Juliusson said. “A lot of people are afraid that the Red Cross is a government agency, which, of course, we’re not.”

Other people have declined to donate, she said, because they believe that giving blood could cause weight gain or affect their mental health.

The new campaign would work not only to dispel those fears and correct misinformation, but also to formalize partnerships with schools, businesses, churches and other organizations to increase blood donations from the Latino community, said Cliff Numark, director of donor recruitment for the American Red Cross.

In Southern California, about 20% of donated blood comes from Latinos, compared with 57% from non-Latino whites, he said.

“We’d like to see that increase to about 40%, to better reflect their population,” Numark said.

The Los Angeles Unified School District is a key part of that relationship, he said.

“Because the LAUSD is the second-largest school district in the country, and 70% of its students are of Hispanic origin, it’s a critical part of our being able to reach out to Hispanic donors,” Numark said.

Officials said that in helping others, Latinos would help themselves as most Latinos who need transfusions can receive only type O blood.