Stanford Blood Center Urgently Seeks Donations As Supply Dips Over Labor Day Weekend
PALO ALTO (BCN) – The Stanford Blood Center urgently needs blood donations to help replenish its short supply following the Labor Day holiday, center officials said on Wednesday.
The center is asking Bay Area residents to donate blood of all types, especially O positive and O negative, to help local patients.
The Blood Center has a depleted blood supply due to holiday travel, lower collections, cancelled mobile drives, and higher than expected blood usage at its partner hospitals, according to center officials.
The center supports patients who have had surgeries that require blood transfusions to replace lost blood and over the summer the center has reported a 10 to 15 percent increase in the number of surgeries across its partner hospitals.
Stanford Blood Center Spokesperson Ross Coyle said in an email it was not clear why the number of surgeries and blood use increased this summer. But, he said, one reason could be due to care that had been postponed earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic and then rescheduled.
Coyle said the demand for blood products at the Center's partner hospitals has remained high in the last few months.
"It's the blood that we have readily available that allows us to save a life at a moment's notice, so we're urging the community to please consider donating this week," Coyle said. "We want to reassure the public that the safety of our donors is a top priority and we have measures in place to ensure blood donation continues to be a safe process for everyone onsite."
Donation centers are available at Campbell, Menlo Park or Mountain View and mobile blood drives are also available this week in Palo Alto, San Jose and Sunnyvale.
Before donating blood, people should drink fluids and eat well. Donors should not have cold, flu or COVID-19 symptoms. Photo ID is required at the time of donation.
As an incentive, the center is offering a free coupon for a free sub sandwich from Jersey Mike's for those who register to donate in September.
For more information or to schedule an appointment, those interested can visit www.stanfordbloodcenter.org or call (888) 723-7831.
© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. and Bay City News Service. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
