NORTHERN OHIO Red Cross issues call for donors as supplies drop

Summer vacations and activities have reduced attendance at blood drives, the Red Cross says.
CLEVELAND -- The Northern Ohio Blood Services Region of the American Red Cross has had to import more than 500 pints of blood to the region over the past few weeks to meet the needs of local patients.
As of Monday, the region was below its minimum supply standard on five of the eight blood types -- O positive and negative, A positive and negative and B positive, Red Cross officials said.
The minimum standard is the amount of blood needed for three days, and is different for each blood type, depending upon the rarity of and demand for that type. For instance, the three-day minimum for O negative, which can be received by people of any blood type, is 225 pints; for AB negative, a rare blood type, it is 15 units.
Blood from elsewhere
To alleviate the shortage, the Northern Ohio Region had to be given several hundred pints of blood from other Red Cross cities, including Fort Wayne, Ind.; Detroit; Toledo; and Peoria, Ill., said Karen Kelley, Red Cross spokeswoman.
"Traditionally, the Northern Ohio Region collects just what we need," she said. She attributes that to a combination of high need and insufficient donations.
As of last Friday, the blood types O positive and negative and A positive and negative were under a one-day supply, said Mike Cook, Red Cross spokesman.
With student blood drives at high schools over until September, and people busy with summer activities, daily turnout at Red Cross blood drives during the last two weeks has been about 20 percent lower than expected, Cook said.
However, local officials have aggressive plans to recruit blood donors throughout the summer with direct mailing, television advertising and telephone recruiting, he said.
Local sponsors, such as television and radio stations and businesses, are helping to recruit donors, and Gov. Bob Taft recently recorded a public service announcement encouraging Ohioans to donate blood, Cook said.
The goal
The Northern Ohio Blood Services Region includes 19 counties in Northern Ohio. Ninety-nine percent of the blood that is collected in this region stays in the region. To provide enough blood for patients in 61 area hospitals, the Red Cross aims to collect 900 pints of blood every day, Red Cross officials said.
"While we need our current donors to return this summer," said David H. Plate, chief executive officer of the Northern Ohio Region, "we also need new people to donate. We want to make sure that if somebody in a local hospital needs a blood transfusion, they'll receive it."
XTo donate, call the Red Cross at (800) 448-3543. Blood-drive information is also available online at www.redcross.org/northernohio.