Wanted in Gainesville: holiday blood donors

GAINESVILLE - The American Red Cross in Gainesville is in its annual holiday donor slump and needs all blood donors, especially Hispanics, with Type 0 blood.

Collection Technician Antonio Rivera is looking for fellow Hispanics to come in to the Red Cross Donor Center

"I can translate for Hispanic people who don't speak any English," Rivera said. "We'll get one or two trickle in with the rest of the regulars; they've been showing up, not as many as we would like to see."

The Red Cross estimates that nearly half of all minority blood donors have Type 0, but those donors account for less than 20 percent of all blood donations in the Southern Region.

Type 0 negative blood is currently at just over a day's supply. It's the type most needed by hospital patients. Type 0 positive lies at just a 14-hour supply.

It is used extensively by hospitals, particularly to treat newborns and in life-threatening emergencies before a patient's blood type is determined.

Red Cross officials say that there is a constant need for all blood types. While 38 percent of the U.S. population is eligible to donate, fewer than 8 percent of those eligible actually give blood. The Southern Region needs 1,200 blood donations each weekday in order to adequately supply more than 130 hospitals throughout the region.

However, this goal is seldom met, and blood is routinely brought in from other states to meet the needs of local hospital patients.

The Gainesville Donor Center is one of 14 blood centers throughout the Southern Region.

Donors are asked to visit www.redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE to schedule an appointment. Most people in good health who are age 17 or older and weigh at least 110 pounds can give blood.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2008/12/216393