The figure keeps the hospital stocked and ready for any emergencies and surgeries, she said. Sapp said if the Putnam bank falls short, employees have to rely on their headquarters to loan them blood. The bank is a branch of the LifeSouth Community Blood Centers, based in Gainesville. Sapp said the blood bank averages about 6,300 donors per year, which is its goal. But 68 percent of blood givers came in only once last year.
People get so busy and hectic they forget to come back and donate.
Sapp said another factor contributing to the shortage is a large percentage of donors are baby boomers who are now becoming the recipients of blood. On other days, the bank collects from smaller businesses, sometimes only three or four pints of blood. Sapp said the facility is at an emergency level for both types of O blood. O negative is considered universal, and can be given to patients with other blood types, she said. O positive is the most common blood type.