At Mississippi Blood Services' Flowood location, retired nurse Mary Aldridge squeezes a foam ball during her blood donation.
“My first time that I ever donated blood was when I worked at Women's Hospital,” she said. “We had a baby in ICU, and it needed blood. O-negative, which I am. I wound up giving a little more than I was supposed to, so they let me lay there for a good long while.”
Shamira Muhammad
Blood summer shortage
Aldridge said she felt good about playing a part in the baby’s survival.
“If you can save someone's life, why not?”
According to the American Red Cross, blood is needed for emergency situations every two seconds in the United States. Blood is used for surgeries and transfusions for cancer patients and sickle cell patients.
But the shelves in the back of the Mississippi Blood Services’ Flowood center are sparsely filled. Kasey Dickson is the marketing director at Mississippi Blood Services.
“On average, our facility, we like to see blood donations being anywhere from 150 to 200 or more per day,” she said. “Right now, during the summer, we're not even getting close to that.”
Dickson says because of summer vacations and less of a desire to donate, blood supplies around the country typically face a shortage this season.
“We're probably seeing close to a third or a fourth of that,” she said.
Dickson says the need for blood remains high. Just one donation could potentially benefit up to three people.
“Right now, what we are truly in need of are O's, whether it's positive or negative, as well as B's, positive and negative,” she said. “Both of those have unique characteristics that can help multiple people, so that's where you can see we definitely need those products.”
Mississippi Blood Services also has locations in Cleveland and Oxford, and has mobile donation centers traveling throughout the state.