This year has already seen more traffic deaths on Hawaiʻi’s roads than last year. In October, the number of crashes on the highway that have led to fatalities and casualties taxed not only first responders but also those in hospitals.
It's also created a strain on the state's blood supply. On the Big Island, there was a head-on crash in October that killed a grandmother and her 3-week-old grandchild and seriously injured several others.
On Oʻahu, three children sustained injuries from a crash on Friday, and there have been numerous cases involving pedestrians.
Here is a fact that may be startling: Hawaiʻi only has a week's worth of blood on hand at any one time, and there have been days when the supply has been quite thin.
The Conversation spoke to Kim-Anh Nguyen, the CEO of the Blood Bank of Hawaii, who said that for the past two days, it has been under its goal of 200 blood donors per day.
“It just hit home to me how our staff, they're not just there to draw blood,” Nguyen said. “They feel the ownership of Hawaiʻi's blood supply, and every day that they make goal, they celebrate because they know what it means, and every day that they're just a little bit shy, they feel that ownership.”
Each morning, the organization meets to discuss what it has on hand for those needing blood transfusions or open heart surgery, or those with cancers like leukemia.
"When that trauma, that accident, that shark bite comes into the ER and a trauma is called, the doctors have to work so fast they don't know the patient's blood type, so they have to default to using universal blood, which, for red cells, is O-negative," Nguyen said.
Due to high demand, she said the blood bank has a one-day supply of O-negative on its shelf. Its platelet supply, which helps stop bleeding, is also down to half of what it needs to be — patients have used 25% more platelets than usual this month.
Nguyen said having blood on the shelf is critical for saving patients who have experienced physical trauma.
To expand its outreach, the Blood Bank of Hawaii travels to the neighboring islands monthly to host blood drives.
It hopes to move into its new headquarters over the holiday season — just in time for its 86th anniversary next year.
Learn how to donate blood, and find a blood drive near you here.
This story aired on The Conversation on Nov. 18, 2025. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. Hannah Kaʻiulani Coburn adapted this story for the web.
