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Blood Bank of Delmarva issues an urgent call for donors

Blood Bank of Delmarva
The Blood Bank of Delmarva (BBD) has declared a blood emergency.

The Blood Bank of Delmarva (BBD) says it's facing a blood emergency.

 

Following the Labor Day holiday and the start of the new school year, the Blood Bank says its supplies have dropped to critical lows.

Michele Hart-Henry is the vice president and chief operating officer at the Blood Bank.  She says donations declined and demand increased over the past week.

“We normally have a kind of end-of-summer slump and donations tend to pick up after Labor Day, but unfortunately, this time they did not pick back up to the levels that we like to see; and so, for those reasons, we have decided to go ahead and issue a blood emergency,” Hart-Henry said.

 

Hart-Henry notes that donated blood is perishable, and in order to maintain a safe supply, a seven-day inventory of all blood types must be continually replenished. She says right now, reserves are at 50-percent of optimum levels.

 

But she notes one type is a higher priority.

 

“O Negative is always our most critical need, because that is what they call the universal blood type. Anybody who is injured or who has trauma or who needs blood that, the individual has not been typed yet, can receive O Negative blood. So we need O Negative blood. But we also need all of the other blood types,” Hart-Henry said.

 

The Blood Bank isn’t just seeking individuals donors.  It also encourages companies, organizations, and community groups to step up and host a blood drive to help rebuild the blood supply.

 

You can make an appointment to donate blood by calling 1-888-8-BLOOD-8.

 

 

The American Red Cross is also trying to help increase blood supplies.

Red Cross spokesperson Alana Mauger says it’s holding two events - Tuesday, September 18 at Independence Hall in Millsboro from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Friday, September 21 at the Fraternal Order of Eagles Lodge No. 74 in Wilmington from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.

“Right now, if you give blood from now through September 30, you will receive a coupon for a free haircut, courtesy of Sports Clips,” Mauger said.

 

 

 

 

Kelli Steele has over 30 years of experience covering news in Delaware, Baltimore, Winchester, Virginia, Phoenix, Arizona and San Diego, California.