Emergency blood drive looking for donors

Ian Mayer Arizona Daily Wildcat Tucson's American Red Cross blood supply, which is stored in these refrigeration units, have been depleted due to widespread cold and flu outbreak.

From 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Red Cross representatives will be taking donations in the Senior Ballroom as they try to pull southern Arizona out of a critical blood shortage, said Vikki Fernette, Red Cross donor recruitment representative.

The goal is to collect 150 pints of blood today, she said.

"This is not a challenge of U of A vs. ASU," Fernette said. "This is not fun and games. This is life and death."

The entire nation's blood supply has decreased because of widespread cold and flu outbreaks in the United States, Fernette said.

Normally, the Southern Arizona Chapter of the Red Cross pulls in 180 pints of blood a day. January's average has been only 130 pints daily, Fernette said.

"The numbers are unbelievable. We're losing a good 50 donors a day" she said, adding that this was because a large proportion of donors have cold and flu symptoms.

Dr. Diane Eklund, University Medical Center blood bank medical director, said UMC has had enough blood to care for its patients, but that could change if the Red Cross shortage gets worse.

"So far, we haven't had anybody not get blood they needed," she said. "We haven't had to cancel surgeries in town, but if we don't replenish the supply soon, it could get that bad."

Eklund said UMC has recently changed some of its procedures in an effort to conserve the most-needed blood types.

Normally, trauma patients rushed into the emergency room are quickly given O-negative blood, she said.

Because O-negative blood can be used universally, it is in highest demand, but it also hard to come by - only 8 percent of the population is O-negative.

"So far, at the university, however, we kind of decided we'd only use O-negative for patients who have to have it," Eklund said.

An Rh negative person's body creates antibodies to fight off the Rh factor in Rh positive blood, she said. Men are not as seriously affected by the reaction. With a pregnant woman, however, a developing baby could be severely harmed by the incompatibility. Therefore, Rh-negative men can be given Rh-positive blood to conserve O-negative blood.

Eklund said the need for blood fluctuates day to day, but it is important to always have a surplus.

"We want to have plenty in store," she said. "We never know when somebody might be shot or something and we'll need it to save a life."

About 6 percent of the Red Cross' donations come from the University of Arizona, Fernette said.

"That's why it's the most likely place to go to pull in what the shortage is in a hurry," she said.