O-Negative Blood Supply Critically Low

January 25, 2013 at 1:11 pm
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By Julie Peachey, Social Media Manager, Stanford Blood Center

We are critically low in type O-negative blood and are asking for those eligible, to donate within the next couple of weeks. Unusually high demand has depleted O-negative inventory at local hospitals and across the Bay Area, making it difficult to import blood as well.

“Hospital inventory is critically low following the winter holidays and the flu outbreak,” said Dayna Kerecman Myers, communications manager at SBC. “We need new community donors to help prevent shortages. If you have O-negative blood, or know of family members or friends who are O-negative, please encourage them to donate.”

O-negative is the universal blood type and can be transfused to anyone, making it vital for trauma victims who sometimes need transfusions before there is an opportunity for blood typing. Approximately half of our supply of this blood type is designated for neonatal patients. Additionally, O-negative patients can only receive blood from donors sharing their blood type—and only about 6 out of every 100 people have this blood type. For all of these reasons, the need for O-negative is particularly great, but we are also below minimum inventory in many other types as well. Therefore, eligible people of all blood types are being asked to donate at one of our locations in Mountain View, Palo Alto, or Menlo Park.

For an appointment, please call 888-723-7831 or schedule online. For eligibility questions, you may call the number above or check our eligibility requirements by clicking here.