Countywide : Red Cross Appeals for Blood, Cites Shortage

American Red Cross officials have made an appeal for 5,000 blood donors from Orange and Los Angeles counties to ease a critical Southern California blood shortage.

The local Red Cross is 9,000 units below its normal collections from last year and blood rationing at hospitals has begun, with some elective surgeries actually being postponed, spokesman Harry Huggins said.

“The shortage has been growing since September and now it’s seriously low,” Huggins said. He attributed the problem to a combination of unsuccessful donor recruiting drives throughout the fall and the Christmas and New Year’s holidays falling on Wednesday.

“Part of the situation was that our regular donors’ schedules were broken up by two mid-week holidays in a row, and new donors were too busy to listen to us during this time of year,” Huggins said. “We need 5,000 more donors to get us out of the swamp.”

The Red Cross has identified a particularly urgent need for type O blood, necessary for trauma center emergencies.

Although only elective surgery is now being postponed due to the shortage, Huggins warned that emergency blood requirements may not be met if donors do not respond. He also cautioned that “elective surgery” includes not only cosmetic operations, but such serious procedures as heart bypasses.

“We don’t just jump into an appeal like this. Our supplies are very low when an appeal is made,” Huggins said.

Huggins said Red Cross blood donor facilities in Orange County are located in Huntington Beach at Seaport Square, No. 101, 18822 Beach Blvd.; in Anaheim at 669 Euclid Ave. and in Santa Ana at 600 N. Park Center Drive.

The telephone number of the Orange County Red Cross is 835-5381.