COUNTYWIDE : Ventura Group’s Blood Supply Down

United Blood Services of Ventura faced a critical shortage of blood Thursday, with only 30 pints of blood in refrigeration, down 220 pints from the amount the organization normally has on hand, an organization official said.

“We have a critical blood shortage as of this morning,” said Carolyn Chubb, director of community relations for United. “When the Persian Gulf situation escalated, we lost a lot of support out of the base. There is literally no blood in my refrigerator and no stock to rotate.”

Chubb said the nonprofit organization needs 635 pints a week to meet the needs of Ventura County residents. “The problem with donating blood is that people never think about it until they need it. It never hits home until then.”

Although the organization has been notified that it needs to send 25 units of blood a week to the Persian Gulf area, Chubb said she needs blood “for the little boy with leukemia who is here.”

January is historically a slow month for blood donations, but Chubb said she is seeing a slowdown in donations in part because of lack of support from new people moving into the county.

“Simi Valley, for example, has a lot of people moving in, but they are not available to us because they work in Los Angeles,” Chubb said. “However, a couple of business accounts I approached flat out told me no. That is because business does not want to deal with people being away from work for half an hour.”

Chubb recently sent 100 letters to new prospects, but only three companies said they would participate in a blood drive. “We will be having our volunteers calling past donors, telling them we have a critical need for their blood type. That’s the most effective way to ask--one-on-one.” Chicago Title Co. will sponsor a bloodmobile from 9:30 to noon today at 5676 Ralston St. in Ventura. Potential donors are asked to make reservations by calling United Blood Services at 654-1600.