Blood Shortages Causing Concern For Queens Area Hospitals

Despite the fact that many hospitals are in such a drought, they have not, as of yet, resorted to the cancellation of elective surgeries. Most hospitals admit they are headed in that direction. Bibi Banoo, manager of the Long Island Jewish Hospital Blood Bank, told The Queens Courier that the Hospital is encouraging patients undergoing elective surgery to donate their own blood, and get friends and family to join the cause. If the blood supplies arent somewhat replenished in the near future, Banoo predicts that elective surgeries, by months end, could wind up being postponed. Banoo also said, "more and more people need to be aware" of the situation currently being experienced.
North Shore University Hospital Blood Bank Manager Gloria Lopez said another option exists in extracting amounts of blood in excess of the customary one unit per donation. Lopez said this would be possible only if the donor had high amounts of hemoglobin and was able to give extra blood. This option would exist solely on a donor-to-donor basis and would be explored at the time of each donation.
Lopez believes that, in order to acquire more blood from the areas prospective donors, an appeal must be made for them to donate. Such an effort was made on July 1 at Club Melao in Astoria, with the nightclubs first annual drive.
Dr. Robert Jones, president and CEO of the New York Blood Center (which services 200 New York and New Jersey hospitals with blood supplies) said the low blood inventory had "forced the cutting of shipments of Type O blood to area hospitals over six weeks ago, and we have been chronically low on Type B to ship."
Donations from Queens minority community are of paramount importance to insure securing Types O and B. Recent reports indicate many minorities are blood Type O and B. Although Hispanics make up almost one-third of the New York population, they also currently make up less than 10 percent of community blood supply. At Club Melao, Hispanics were targeted for blood donation, as around 60-70 percent of Hispanics are Type O.
U.S. Senator Charles Schumer recently made a plea to the federal government for a declaration of a blood shortage emergency for New York City and Long Island. He additionally called upon the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services to devote $10 million to promote city blood donation, citing that the money would go to promoting blood drives and donations and the purchase of 10 blood-collection vans. "Weve always been able to count on our hospitals having a safe, steady, reliable supply of blood, but that may no longer be the case," Schumer said.
Schumer also said that President George W. Bush and New York Governor George Pataki should offer compensatory time to federal and state employees in order to increase the amount of blood donated. Schumer, speaking at the New York Blood Center, afterwards donated blood himself.
Kenneth Raske, Greater New York Hospital Assoc. president, predicts a grim future for the welfare of the people of the city of New York if no plan is devised to replenish blood lost to federal bans. Raske said, "people are going to suffer, and people are going to die unless they increase the blood supply."
Dr. Jones estimates that 7,000 patients in need of transfusions wont receive blood unless European supplies are supplanted by ones in the U.S.
Flushing and Jamaica hospitals will each be having blood drives in July. Flushing Hospital will host a drive July 11, while Jamaica Hospital will hold one on July 24.