My arm bleeds for you....
I went and donated blood again today. They had a mobile unit only a couple of miles away and they were extremely short on my type of blood (O+). They call a 3-day supply "100%", and O+ was down to 2% - so I guess they had enough to fill demand for only about an hour and a half. And the only substitute for that (O-, the universal donor) was down to 17%.
Sometimes I head up to their main donation center because they can do more efficient types of donation. Being this short of O+ I'm sure they would have been happy to take a "Double Red" (where they take twice as many red cells as normal and pump the plasma and all the rest back into you). But that means using up about $10 in gas and they defer you for 16 weeks afterwards instead of the normal 8 weeks.
I know that not everyone can donate, but I hope those who can will consider doing so. The Stanford Blood Bank (the one I use most often) says that donations are up 8% over last year. You'd think they'd be doing well. But the NEED for blood is up 12% this year. Thus the low inventory.
Sometimes I head up to their main donation center because they can do more efficient types of donation. Being this short of O+ I'm sure they would have been happy to take a "Double Red" (where they take twice as many red cells as normal and pump the plasma and all the rest back into you). But that means using up about $10 in gas and they defer you for 16 weeks afterwards instead of the normal 8 weeks.
I know that not everyone can donate, but I hope those who can will consider doing so. The Stanford Blood Bank (the one I use most often) says that donations are up 8% over last year. You'd think they'd be doing well. But the NEED for blood is up 12% this year. Thus the low inventory.