United Blood Services is experiencing a severe shortage of blood donations as many donors cancel appointments due to the flu.
Nearly 80 hospital orders for blood went unfilled by the blood bank Tuesday, said spokeswoman Sue Thew.
“We strive for about 700 donors a day since we provide blood services to 58 hospitals across Arizona,” Thew said.
Donors with O-negative blood are especially in need because their blood can be safely given to all people, and there are also shortages in A-negative, B-negative, AB-negative and O-positive, she said. However, all blood donations of all types are needed.
“United Blood Services provides blood for 90 percent of hospitals in Arizona and is the sole supplier of East Valley hospitals,” Thew said.
O-negative can be given to newborns, which have extremely small veins and only about a cup of blood, make it difficult to determine their blood type, she said. Additionally, because of their immature immune systems, infants often lack the antibodies used to determine their blood type.
Because of this, O-negative is the only blood type babies can safely receive, Thew said.
During emergencies, O-negative is also needed because doctors often don’t have the time to test for blood type before administering life-saving transfusions, she said.
Donors should be well and healthy, over 16-years-old, Thew said.
Donor centers in Chandler, located at 1989 W. Elliot Rd. #33, and Mesa, 1337 S. Gilbert Rd. #101, are open Monday through Saturday.
Appointments are recommended, please call 1-877-UBS-HERO (827-4376) or visit www.bloodhero.com.
Additional blood drives will also be held at:
Mesa
- Thu 1/24, 8am-12pm, East Valley Academy, 855 W 8th Ave, 61 & 62
- Sun 1/27, 8:30am-1:30pm, Christ The King Catholic, 1551 E Dana, Presentation Hall
- Mon 1/28, 8am-12pm, Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, 612 S Ellsworth Rd, Community room
- Wed 1/30, 8:30am-12:30pm, Fountain of the Sun Community, 540 S 80th St, Bus
Gilbert
- Tue 1/29, 10am-2pm, Rome Towers, 1760 E Pecos, Bus
- Tue 1/29, 3pm-8pm, LDS Gilbert Stake, 777 E Elliot Rd, Cultural Hall
Chandler
- Thu 1/24, 11am-3pm, Primavera Online High School, 2471 N Arizona Ave, Bus
- Mon 1/28, 9am-1pm, Chandler-Gilbert Community College, 2626 E Pecos Rd, Bus-Sidewalk South of C/S Bldgs
- Tue 1/29, 9am-1pm, Chandler-Gilbert Community College, 2626 E Pecos Rd, Bus-Sidewalk South of C/S Bldgs
Tempe
- Thu 1/24, 1pm-5pm, Creative Testing Solutions/Blood Systems Laboratories, 2424 W Erie, Bus
- Thu 1/24, 11:30am-3:30pm, ASU Orange Mall, Arizona State University, near Bookstore
Queen Creek
- Sat 1/26, 8am-12pm, LDS Queen Creek South Stake, 1591 Bella Vista, Cultural Hall
Contact writer: (480) 898-5645 or sspring@evtrib.com
