GEORGIA, PLEASE GIVE BLOOD

The Red Cross is desperate for blood this summer. Last week at work I cared for a patient whose open heart surgery had to be delayed because there were no platelets in our hospital. I work in the largest hospital south of the ATL in Georgia. And one of three Level One Trauma Centers in the state! This is a big deal. I checked on our intranet the same day and saw a report from the Red Cross begging Georgians to donate.

"The total blood supply throughout the Southern Region stands at just over a 24-hour supply. Supplies of types O negative, A negative, and B negative blood are below a day's supply. The supply of type O positive - the universal donor is at a SIX HOUR supply!

In the U.S. about four million people need blood each year. That's one person every two seconds, and the overwhelming majority of people who need it, would die without it...Blood donations decrease in the summertime, while demand increases, resulting in severe shortage."

It is safe for you to give blood every 56 days or six times a year. Donations of platelets, the component that enables clotting, can be made every two weeks, up to 24 times each year. Platelets are often needed for cancer patients on chemo." I wish Relay for Life would preach that!

We need 1,200 people to donate each weekday to meet the needs of our hospital patients. If you are at least 17 years old and weigh 110 pounds YOU ARE ELIGIBLE! There are NO blood substitutes.

14 blood donation centers exist in Georgia and drives are held all over. Visit www.givebloodredcross.org or www.redcrossblood.org for more info.

Please fit this in your schedule! I personally gave blood every 56 days through high school and college and then disqualified after traveling to a third world country. I've never done it since.

Take a friend and donate some of yourself! My patient's surgery delay could have caused another heart attack and led to death. DONATE. It really could save someone's life.