MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) – There’s an urgent need for blood donations across New England to make up for shortages caused by a combination of demographics and bad weather, officials said.
The American Red Cross is asking people across New England to roll up their sleeves and donate, said Carol Dembeck, a spokeswoman for the New England Region of the American Red Cross.
“I really think people respond when there’s a crisis,” Dembeck said. “We need to get out the message that for people who need blood it is a crisis. The need is every day.”
Dembeck said that some hospitals have less than a one-day supply of blood on their shelves. Ideally, hospitals will have a three- to five-day supply of blood, she said.
The New England Region of the American Red Cross is made up of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts.
Dr. James Aubuchon, the chairman of the Pathology Department at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H., said Friday that he didn’t know of any cases where the lack of blood hurt a patient. But blood shortages routinely prompt hospitals to postpone elective surgery.
A big part of the current shortage is due to the aging of the population. As people get older, fewer are eligible to donate blood, yet more of them need blood.
On top of that, the bad weather during the last week could have kept Red Cross blood mobiles from reaching people who would have been willing to donate.
The key to overcoming the shortage is to get people out to donate.
“The perception of blood bankers is the public understands how important it is, but they don’t always have the motivation to respond today,” Aubuchon said.
The outpouring of blood donations in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States were an example of how the public can be motivated to respond.
“We need a steady supply of it. We need to keep reminding people of the need to donate,” Aubuchon said. “Everyone is so busy it can be difficult for people to do what they are supposed to do.”
The American Red Cross Web site lists locations of scheduled blood drawings or they can call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE.
“I don’t think it’s more blood drives that are needed, it’s good attendance at the blood drives that are being scheduled,” he said.
Aubuchon said there were several hospitals and blood centers in New England where people can walk in and donate. He said that appointments help, but walk-ins won’t be turned away.
http://www.newenglandblood.org
AP-ES-10-17-03 1404EDT
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