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posted: June 6, 2006 updated: June 13, 2006 Hoxworth Blood Supply Update Last week's emergency appeal for donors was arguably the most successful appeal in recent history. Between Wednesday and Saturday, we saw 1829 donors and collected 1749 units of blood Media coverage was very good, with TV, radio and the Enquirer all doing lengthy stories spanning from Wednesday through Friday. Dr. Ken Davis (Professor of Surgery at UC) was featured in many of the interviews, talking about how the ER and trauma departments see a rise in blood usage in the summer and why it's so important to donate blood now. Dr. Davis personally attended to three of the gun shot trauma victims early Wednesday morning. Our last major appeal was in April of 2005, which had been considered our most successful appeal to date, until last week. Here is a quick comparison of collections during the two appeals: June 2006 Appeal Wed. June 7: 471 units Thurs. June 8: 495 Fri: June 9: 547 Sat June 10: 236 total: 1749 April 2005 Appeal Wed. April 6: 441 units Thurs. April 7: 501 Fri. April 8th: 498 Sat. June 9: 98 total: 1538 June 2006: 1749 units April 2005: 1538 units % change: +13.7 Critical Need for Blood Donors Hoxworth Blood Center has issued critical appeal for donors with all blood types, especially Type O. The current shortage can be attributed to a significant increase in blood usage at local hospitals due to recent violent traumas and accidents. As of Wednesday morning, the community’s blood supply was down over 350 units (about 35 percent) in Type O, the most common blood type. About 44 percent of the population either O positive or O negative, and is the blood type used most often at local hospitals and trauma centers. "We’re asking all individuals to donate at their earliest convenience," said Michael Anderson, spokesperson for Hoxworth. “This situation is very serious, and we do not expect the blood supply to return to normal levels for at least a week.” If volunteer donors do not help with the critical shortage, blood inventories at local hospitals will be at dangerously low levels. Hoxworth has not issued a critical appeal for donors since April of 2005. Examples of recent usage at local hospitals: (one unit = one donor) • Multiple gunshot victims: over 300 units (including 95 units of red blood cells, 110 units of plasma, 50 units of platelets) • Cancer patient: 78 units • Liver transplant patient: 57 units • Open heart surgery patient: 42 units • Automobile accident: 13 units Greater Cincinnatians are urged to donate at one of Hoxworth’s nine neighborhood donor centers immediately. Appointments in advance are encouraged for quicker service, but walk-in’s will be taken on a first come-first serve basis. Please call (513) 451-0910 or (800) 830-1091 to schedule an appointment. Hoxworth operates donation centers in Anderson, Blue Ash, UC Academic Health Center, Downtown, Ft. Mitchell, Ft. Thomas, Tri-County and Western Hills. Operating days and hours vary with each center. Click here for a donor center or community blood drive. Hoxworth Blood Center at the University of Cincinnati Academic Health Center needs to collect from 350 volunteer blood donors and 40 volunteer platelet donors each day to keep up with the demands of tri-state hospitals and their patients. Hoxworth, founded in 1938, serves 27 hospitals in 17 counties in Southwestern Ohio, Northern Kentucky and Southeastern Indiana. Annually, Hoxworth collects over 90,000 units of blood from local volunteer donors. -###- comments@hoxworth.org
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