Broken Water Line Damages Central Blood Bank's Platelet Facility
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Over the weekend, a water line from a boiler broke and creating quite a mess at the Central Blood Bank's platelet processing facility on the North Side.
Steam and water significantly damaged not only equipment, but the platelet inventory.
"We really try to be good stewards of the blood supply and the blood products and having something of this nature, it is upsetting for us to then go out and have to rely on our sister centers to help us manage that day to day inventory," Tamara Kilgore, of the Central Blood Bank, said.
Despite the major loss, Central Blood Bank employees say it could have been worse.
"Luckily, our daily distributions had just left so we were able to meet the hospital needs yesterday," Kilgore said.
Those products were dispatched to more than 40 hospitals here in Western Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio.
Moving forward though, building the supply back up will be a challenge.
That's on top of challenges presented simply by this time of year. In some places, donations were already down.
"Every winter we'll have different issues with the weather, whether its snow accumulation, or if its frigid temperatures, or a polar vortex. So, we try to do the things we can to get people to come in and remind our donors, that we need to donate, them to donate every 56 days or when they're eligible," Kilgore said.
Central Blood Bank is encouraging donors to step up at this time and donate over the next few days.
Platelets are especially needed for patients undergoing chemotherapy.
As for the facility itself, employees say they have not yet determined the damage in a dollar amount.
Join The Conversation On The KDKA Facebook Page
Stay Up To Date, Follow KDKA On Twitter