Red Cross issues emergency call for blood donations

[ehrnst]

Blood donations have fallen short of hospital needs for the past few months, resulting in about 39,000 fewer donations than what’s needed, the organization said.

The Independence Day holiday may also have caused many regular donors to postpone donations. More than 75 percent of donors surveyed in a recent Red Cross poll said they had vacation plans this summer, many of them occurring the weeks before and after July 4.

“Right now, blood products are being distributed to hospitals faster than donations are coming in, which is why we are making this emergency request for donations,” Nick Gehrig, communications director for Red Cross Blood Services, said in a statement. “Donations are urgently needed now to meet the needs of hospital patients in the coming days and weeks. If you’ve thought about giving blood and helping to save lives, now is the time to do it. It’s the blood donations on the shelves that help save lives when an emergency occurs.”

http://www.baltimoresun.com/health/blog/bal-red-cross-blood-shortage-story.html

[bigwillq]

1. I can't (nt)

[Iggo]

4. Word.

[Bluenorthwest]

2. They only want 'Sanctified Straight Blood'.

Apparently the 'faith community' is not donating enough. Too bad. Nothing I can do to help.

[cwydro]

3. Well, they're fine with taking gay female blood.

I've been a regular donor for years.

[MurrayDelph]

5. I had to stop giving in order to get any peace

I've given a couple of gallons over my lifetime, but got tired of the "All your blood are being to us" attitude. I usually donated when the bloodmobile would come to me (or was where I happened to be working that week, back when I taught week-long long seminars).

But I stopped giving regularly when a friend needed blood at a Kaiser hospital, but I was three days short of Kaiser's acceptable interval (I came back the following week; unfortunately he needed more).

I stopped giving completely a few years ago, after giving at a Science Fiction convention 100 miles from home. Despite having written "Do Not Call" on my donor's form, I routinely received nag calls from Red Cross, sometimes more than once per day (Who did they think they were: "Windows Support&quot . The biggest bit of Chutzpah in this were repeated calls trying to get me to drive into town (2.5 hours each way) so that I could donate platelets (which is also a long procedure).

If there was a way to give at my convenience without turning the nag factory back on, I might consider going back.