So now we're down to bare shelves,'' said Red Cross spokeswoman Karen Eisele. Georgia hospitals use about 1,200 pints of blood each day. Supplies have dried up since donations dropped to less than 400 pints a day in mid-June, Eisele said. Blood donations normally drop off during the summer as regular donors go on vacation and schools and businesses put off blood drives until the fall. The Red Cross held blood drives over the Fourth of July weekend, but took in just enough blood to make it through the weekend.
Individuals can donate a pint of blood every eight weeks.
The Red Cross, which distributes roughly half the nation's blood supply, has helped offset Georgia's shortage by shipping in blood from Iowa, Michigan and the Carolinas. But Georgia can't rely on other states because shortages are occurring nationwide, Eisele said. Emory University Hospital has been struggling to keep blood on its shelves. Lankford said. ''We are always running low. It's the second time this year Georgia's blood supply had fallen to critical levels.