Blood bank asks hospitals to postpone elective surgeries

PITTSBURGH -- Central Blood Bank has advised the hospitals it serves to postpone certain elective surgeries due to an ongoing blood shortage.
That affects both UPMC Horizon with hospitals in Greenville and Farrell and United Community Hospital in Grove City.
Dr. Joseph Kiss, medical director of Central Blood Bank, said pleas for blood donations have failed to return the region's blood supply to its normal levels, forcing implementation of drastic measures.
Central Blood Bank supplies blood products to more than 40 hospitals in western Pennsylvania as well as northern West Virginia and eastern Ohio, and several hundred donors are needed every 24 hours to meet that demand.
Hospitals were asked to begin delaying elective surgeries requiring O positive and O negative blood types as of Wednesday, and the situation will be reassessed Friday, Kiss said.
All blood types are needed to replenish the supply. Donors can call (866) DONORS1 to schedule an appointment in their area.