The nation's hospitals will pay more for blood collected by the American Red Cross, which plans to raise its prices by July to help pay off debts. Red Cross officials said Wednesday that they could not say how much the price would increase nationally. The Red Cross, which supplies about half of the nation's donor supply, is telling hospitals of its plans to raise the cost of a pint of blood.
National officials say the prices are being determined by local blood centers.
Indiana hospitals, for example, have already learned their prices are rising 10 to 35 percent. Since 1996, the cost of the Red Cross collecting, testing, transporting and delivering blood has risen 27 percent. In that same time, officials said, prices for their products have risen 9.9 percent. Officials said they need more money for research and development and to create a strategic blood reserve for emergencies. The Red Cross collects 6.5 million units of blood a year.