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Community Corner

Local Red Cross In 'Critical Need' of Blood Donors

While area hospitals report adequate supplies, officials echoed the organization's call to give blood.

Facing a summer slowdown, the Connecticut chapter of the Red Cross is urging local residents to make potentially life-saving donations of blood.

"There is a critical need for blood donors now," Donna Morrissey, a spokeswoman for the Connecticut Blood Services Region of the Red Cross, said in a statement. "This summer we have had a particularly difficult time recruiting enough blood donors to meet the requirements of our community's hospitals and the patients they serve."

The agency is seeking persons of all blood types, but especially those with O negative. Donors of this type can make the difference between an adequate supply and a shortage, Morrissey explained, because their blood can be transfused to patients of all groups and is the most commonly used type in emergency and trauma situations.

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Giving blood also allows doctors to treat a wide array of patients, including cancer sufferers, people with blood disorders, premature babies, transplant recipients, and those undergoing surgery. Each donation can help save up to three lives.  

Once a donor gives blood, Red Cross employees use a machine called a centrifuge to separate the red blood cells, plasma, and platelets. They test it for contagious diseases, store the red cells in refrigerators for up to 42 days, store platelets at room temperature for up to five days, and store the plasma in freezers for as long as a year.

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The Red Cross requires that donors be at least 17 years of age, weigh at least 110 pounds, be healthy, and feel well, among other stipulations.

"We urge people to make and keep an appointment to donate blood now," Morrissey said. "Chances are, someone is counting on you right now for their very life."

'We are always looking for donors'

Though several Fairfield County hospitals described their own blood supplies as adequate, officials still echoed the Red Cross's call for donations.

"We are right where we need to be," said Christine Robinson, blood bank manager at St. Vincent's Medical Center. "Some people donate blood every 56 days like clockwork, viewing it as their civic duty. These individuals and the American Red Cross do an excellent job of delivering."

Hospitals communicate regularly with each other about their supplies, ensuring they have enough to treat a potential influx of trauma patients. Individual blood banks send and receive shipments to each other as needed.

"Every hospital in the state shares blood with other hospital. It is about caring for patients' needs," Robinson said.

Norwalk Hospital said it is also operating with an adequate supply of blood. A community teaching hospital, the facility orders units from the Red Cross each morning.

"We usually keep 100 to 110 units of red blood cells per day, including 10 to 12 units of O-negative blood type," Vanessa Hurtado, a medical technologist at the hospital, said. "O-negative is the universal donor type. That is what we give to victims of trauma when they arrive at the hospital before we establish their type." 

A trauma patient might need up to 20 units of blood at once, Hurtado said.

Because platelets live for only five days outside the human body, hospitals do not have a stockpile of them, Hurtado added. But frozen plasma lasts for a year, allowing for an ample supply.

Norwalk Hospital holds four blood drives with the Red Cross annually, spokeswoman Sharon Simon said, generating 35 to 40 units of blood each time. The Red Cross provides the staff, and the hospital provides its facilities and refreshments.

Greenwich Hospital is operating on a full supply, said blood bank coordinator Bryan Runyon said.

"If we need blood at any point of the day or night, we receive it from the Red Cross," Runyon said. "As much as we plan, life happens and people need blood."

"We never shut down. We are always looking for donors," Runyon added.

To make an appointment to give blood, people may call the Red Cross at 1-800-448-3543 or log onto www.givelife.org.

Upcoming Blood Drives in Fairfield County

Monday, Aug. 23. 1:30 to 6:15 p.m. Calvary Evangelical Church, 498 White Plains Rd., Trumbull.

Tuesday, Aug. 24. 12:30 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. Fairfield County Donor Center, 596 Westport Ave., Norwalk.

Tuesday, Aug. 24. 1 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, 4070 Park Ave., Bridgeport.

Wednesday, Aug. 25. 1:15 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Ridgefield Park and Rec., 195 Danbury Rd., Ridgefield.

Thursday, Aug. 26. 12:30 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. Fairfield County Donor Center, 596 Westport Ave., Norwalk.

Thursday, Aug. 26. 7 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Dianon Systems, 1 Forest Parkway, Shelton.

Thursday, Aug. 26. 7:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Greenwich Hospital, 5 Perryridge Rd., Greenwich.

Friday, Aug. 27. 1 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. Baldwin Senior Center, 1000 W. Broad St., Stratford.

Friday, Aug. 27. 1 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. Holiday Inn, 80 Newtown Rd., Danbury.

Saturday, Aug. 28.  8 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. Fairfield County Donor Center, 596 Westport Ave., Norwalk.

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