The State - News from Sept. 10, 1986

Hospitals in the San Francisco Bay Area said they are faced with a serious shortage of blood--especially Type O--apparently because most regular donors are on end-of-summer vacations and also perhaps because of fears concerning AIDS. Mary Joyce, spokeswoman for the Irwin Memorial Blood Bank in San Francisco, called the shortages “critical,” and Mike Goodkind, spokesman for the Stanford University Medical School Blood Center, said that if enough blood is not found, non-emergency operations may have to be postponed. Laurie Putnam of the San Jose Red Cross Blood Center said the mistaken perception by some that acquired immune deficiency syndrome can be contracted by donating blood may be contributing to the problem. Officials insist that no such danger exists.