Article published June 07, 2007
Red Cross supply of blood still falls short
3 types well below preferred inventory
Three blood types - including O negative, which is used in emergencies - were at less than a day's supply locally and two others were close despite numerous area residents giving blood or making donation appointments yesterday.
After the local American Red Cross' supply of O negative was depleted Tuesday, it was at a two-hour level by midafternoon yesterday, still dangerously below the three-day inventory officials want for each type, said Annie Marckel, spokesman for the Western Lake Erie Region of American Red Cross Blood Services.
Plus, the local region has less than a half-day of O positive in supply, and the overall inventory of all seven blood types was at little more than two days, Ms. Marckel said. The region supplies 23 hospitals in 11 northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan counties.
"It's just not getting any better," Ms. Marckel said. "We still are really struggling."
Local Red Cross officials issued a plea for donations on Tuesday a few hours before they ran out of O negative and as two other types, O positive and B negative, were each down to a day's supply. B negative also dropped below a day's supply yesterday, although it was not as low as O negative or O positive, Ms. Marckel said.
Officials continue to hope the chance to win a $14,000 Chevrolet Cobalt donated by Dave White Chevrolet in Sylvania will help bring donors to Red Cross' Toledo blood-collection center, 3510 Executive Pkwy., or community blood drives.Donors can give blood every 56 days, and they can enter for a chance to win the car each time they offer to give blood until Sept. 3. Ninety-nine finalists will be randomly selected to attend a blood drive at Dave White on Sept. 8, where another finalist will be randomly selected before a final drawing to win the car.
For information about donor center hours and community blood drives, call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE or log onto the www.givebloodtoday.org Web site.
The blood shortage is especially critical as the weekend approaches and the chance for accidents involving boats, motorcycles, cars, and other vehicles increases, Ms. Marckel said. Called the universal blood type, O negative is used in trauma cases when there is not enough time to determine blood type, and hospitals were getting just part of their orders filled yesterday, she said.
"We could be in the same situation next week," Ms. Marckel said of running out of O negative. "It's a constant struggle."
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