GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — West Michigan is facing a critical blood supply shortage. Versiti Blood Center tells me certain blood types have less than a day’s supply.
“I am a regular donator; I’ve been giving blood for years,” said Nancy Coelho.
She visits Versiti Blood Center on Fuller Avenue regularly. This time she noticed many empty chairs around here during lunch hour.
Coelho says, “I definitely noticed it was less busy. I was the only person giving whole blood at the time of my donation.”
“It's an emergency blood shortage right now,” said Dawn Kaiser, Versiti Blood Center of Michigan director of Donor Services.
She says the shortage is happening because regular donors are not coming in and area hospitals have been needing a larger supply of blood. She says, “We actually are encouraging our staff to get on the beds and donate blood. Because we're that critical.”
To meet the needs of area hospitals, 600 units of blood are needed daily.
“If we don't get enough donations, hospitals will have to tell their patients who are having elective surgeries that they have to postpone, and that could cause a backup in the hospitals,” said Kaiser.
Versiti says last week they had their lowest donation count of the year and need 4,000 donors in the next 7 days to meet the demand.
Kaiser says, “It's a community problem when we don't have enough blood. It's not a Versiti problem, because people help people and people need people; we only rely on volunteer blood donors to supply our blood supply."
“There are so many people who are desperate for blood products now in hospitals: children, cancer patients, people who are really ill, and it's one way we can all help,” said Nancy.
Versiti says donating blood takes about an hour, and who can complain when you get snacks as a reward afterwards.
To find a local place to donate, go to Versiti.org.
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