Collection tube shortage causes clubs to postpone low-cost screening event
DOVER (WJER) (Feb. 28, 2022) – Two area civic clubs are having to postpone their Spring Health Check fundraiser because of a global shortage of blood collection tubes.
The event to benefit the efforts of the New Philadelphia Rotary and Dover-New Phila Kiwanis clubs had been scheduled to take place a week from Saturday at Cleveland Clinic Union Hospital. Hospital Community Relations Director Darrin Lautenschleger says collection tubes have been hard to come by because of recent supply chain challenges and high COVID volumes worldwide, so the federal government has been asking providers to conserve ones they have on hand.
“The main thing I would emphasize from the hospital’s standpoint is this is not impacting hospital operations in any way at this time. It’s just hospitals and healthcare providers are looking at ways to preserve and conserve a normal supply by postponing non-essential type of events and services at this point.”
He says the hospital has been contacting individuals who already registered for the event to let them know it has been postponed until further notice.
“Now, what we’re hopeful for is sometime in the next few weeks, we’ll be able to have a decent supply again, and then we’ll be able to reach out to these folks and let them know that we’re holding the event. We don’t have a firm date available at this point.”
Lautenschleger says the appointment times of those who would still like to participate will carry over once a new date is set for the event.