After a tornado system ravaged whole communities and killed more than 50 people in five Southern states Tuesday night, American Red Cross volunteers and employees quickly responded.
They set up shelters, handed out cleanup supplies, provided meals, rendered first aid and offered emotional support to people affected by the natural disaster.
Because of these types of responses, the American Red Cross is generally regarded in a positive light. Following Hurricane Katrina, however, the organization was widely criticized for an inadequate response.
That set off a drive within the organization to undertake a major reorganization, one that would rewrite the rules for how aid is delivered. Still under way, the reorganization efforts are showing results. The Red Cross’ responses to California’s wildfires last year, for example, received praise.
One area of the Red Cross’ responsibilities, however, definitely needs more attention from its board of directors. More than 4 million people a year donate blood through the Red Cross, providing an estimated 45 percent of the nation’s blood supply.
But the Food and Drug Administration continues to cite the Red Cross for lax procedures in collecting the blood, failures that pose the risk of hospitals’ receiving contaminated supplies.
The FDA announced last week that the Red Cross is being fined $4.2 million for failure to comply with federal blood safety requirements. Altogether, the FDA has fined the Red Cross more than $19 million in recent years for blood safety violations.
The violations include failure to ask appropriate questions of donors and failure to comply with blood-testing standards. The failures resulted in more than 100 recalls of blood collected by the Red Cross from 2003 to 2006.
The FDA has provided the Red Cross with a list of proper procedures. We hope the Red Cross prioritizes this area of service as part of its reorganization. People’s lives, and its reputation built on more than a century of service, are at stake.
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