Each of these tragedies further strained the already dangerously low blood supply for our region. Perhaps there won t be another critical motorcycle accident for a while. Perhaps there won't be another tragedy in a casino. Perhaps cures will be found so hundreds of our friends and neighbors suffering from various forms of cancer, kidney disease, or sickle cell disease won t need the blood that now keeps them alive and improves their quality of life. Currently, the Red Cross Gulf Coast Region fights a daily battle to supply the needs of the 53 hospitals in western Florida, southern Mississippi, and southern and central Alabama.
Demands continue to mount while supplies continue to dwindle.
Currently, there is less than a one-day reserve of blood overall. Currently, there are scant supplies of O positive, O negative, A negative, and B negative blood. Hospital orders continue to increase as the medical community finds ways to use blood to improve and preserve life. This past summer, hospitals in several major cities across the nation were forced to cancel or delay surgeries due to the critical blood shortage. Here in the Gulf Coast Region, we were able to avoid that occurrence by aggressively seeking donors and maintaining just barely enough blood to get by.