Critical Blood Shortage Prompts Stanford Center to Urge Residents to Donate Blood

2006
Attention News Desk: Press Release (for immediate release)
MEDIA CONTACT:
Michele Hyndman (650) 723-8237
mhyndman@stanford.edu,
Michelle Bussenius (650) 723-8270 or (650) 504-7973
m.bussenius@stanford.edu

STANFORD, Calif. – Area blood supplies are critically low and the Stanford Blood Center is asking potential donors, especially those with type-O blood, to visit their local blood center and donate today. As a result of this shortage, the seven area hospitals served by the blood center are having difficulty receiving enough blood to serve their patients. If blood does not become available soon, surgeries may need to be postponed, said Michelle Bussenius, spokesperson for Stanford Blood Center.
“Recently we’ve had several patients, including a patient needing a liver transplant, that have drawn heavily on our type-O blood supply,” Bussenius said. “We are struggling to rebound from this usage and are asking the community to step forward and donate to help save the lives of others in our area.”

In the Bay Area, only 4 percent of people eligible to donate blood actually do so. To bolster the low supply, blood must be imported from other areas. “Currently, we cannot even find enough blood to import. Instead of importing, and facing shortages, we want to be able to rely on our community to provide all the blood needed for patients in the area,” Bussenius said.

The Stanford Blood Center is a nonprofit, community-based blood collection and research center that provides volunteer blood donations to patients in seven area hospitals. It operates three fixed-site donation centers in Palo Alto and Mountain View and has mobile operations throughout the Bay Area.

For more information or to schedule an appointment, call (650) 723-7831 or visit the center ‘s Web site at https://bloodcenter-stg.stanford.edu.

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Stanford University Medical Center integrates research, medical education and patient care at its three institutions – Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford Hospital & Clinics and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford. For more information, please visit the Web site of the medical center’s Office of Communication & Public Affairs at http://mednews.stanford.edu.