[September 06, 2011] Red Cross runs low on blood, platelets Tweet Sep 06, 2011 (The Wichita Eagle - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The American Red Cross' Midway Kansas Chapter is running low on whole blood and platelets. Thanks to Hurricane Irene, so are similar chapters across the country. So the search was on Monday for local donors, to help prop up Wichita's sagging supply and potentially contribute to the hurricane onslaught across the East Coast. That's why a slow start to Labor Day traffic was a little alarming to Midway Kansas chapter officials. "I'm disappointed," said Jennifer Keller, a Red Cross spokeswoman, gesturing toward several vacant chairs Monday morning. "The blood center is open and we should have the whole blood side filled." The Wichita facility has a double-barreled need for blood, Keller said: On Wednesday, cooler stock dropped to 40 units, the lowest in recent memory. For context, Keller said, a patient in a major accident can require up to 200 units as they struggle to survive. "In the two years I've been in this department, we've never had to allocate O-positive and O-negative blood," said Steve Gonzales, a manufacturing technician at the Wichita chapter. "We've been critically short on those, and that's unheard of for O positive, which is a common blood type." That's locally. Nationally, Hurricane Irene canceled more than 60 Red Cross blood drives, a loss of more than 2,100 units of blood. With power out and facilities damaged, more cancellations are coming. Despite the shortage locally, Keller said she's confident that needs can be met. "We'll fly it in," she said. "We'll get it to them, but what if this happens throughout the country? "Our goal nationwide is to have a three-day supply of blood on hand. We need to collect about 500 units a day of whole blood and 40 units of platelets. "We collect about 10,000 units a month, and we scraped by and barely made our goal this month." As the clock approached 11 a.m. Monday, more donors began filing in, several who Keller said were familiar faces. "Why donate? Because it's easy and they used to have sloppy joes," joked Paul Shetlar of Wichita as he donated platelets. Shetlar's been a regular since the early 1970s, when a co-worker's wife at the post office needed blood. "It's important because you're helping someone and it's not costing you anything," he said. "And they need it more and more now. There are times you can come in here and there's a sign up that they're short of everything." Another frequent donor, Carl Williams of Wichita, said his visits are a "win-win" proposition. "Not only does it help me, by getting rid of excess iron and helping rejuvenate my body's ability to stay young, but it makes me feel good because I feel like I'm doing a necessary thing," he said. Williams got his start donating blood in college, when analysts determined that his blood was unique during his first donor visit. "So then somebody in Boston called Lawrence, they found out I existed and they got me on the phone and said, 'We need your blood,' " Williams recalled. Lisa Conner of Wichita said she was responding to a call from the chapter to give blood for Hurricane Irene. "Why not on Labor Day?" she asked. "It only takes an hour to give blood and I can sacrifice that. It's important to give back to the community." Reach Bill Wilson at 316-268-6290 or [email protected]. ___ (c)2011 The Wichita Eagle (Wichita, Kan.) Visit The Wichita Eagle (Wichita, Kan.) at www.kansas.com Distributed by MCT Information Services [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]