Blood shortage delays some local operations

Patients slated for elective surgery at area hospitals have to put off going under the knife… Patients slated for elective surgery at area hospitals have to put off going under the knife until the region’s blood supply increases.

Central Blood Bank, a non-profit organization that provides blood to hospitals throughout the tri-state area, told hospitals Monday to postpone elective surgeries until the region’s “dangerously low” levels of O-type blood improve.

“Our hands are sort of forced to do this,” Deborah Ervin, a CBB representative, said.

The delay will only apply to elective surgeries requiring type O blood. Elective surgeries include procedures that can be delayed without risking the patient’s life, such as knee surgery.

To meet regional demand and maintain an adequate supply of blood, CBB requires 725 donations a day.

“We’re not seeing anywhere near that,” said Ervin.

According to her, the optimal blood supply at any time would be large enough to last for seven days.

“Right now, we’re not even seeing two days,” she said.

The blood supply in the area has been low before, Ervin added. In fact, the region had to postpone elective surgeries in a similar effort during July 2002.

Prior to that, it had been ten years since they had needed to postpone surgeries.

“It had always been a seasonal problem,” Ervin said. In the summer, with donors on vacation, blood supplies would drop.

“But now it seems like a year-round problem,” she added.

Dr. Joseph Kiss, CBB’s medical director, called the delays “a last resort.”

“The decision to delay surgery is not one to be made lightly,” Kiss said.

The supply of type O blood is particularly low because it is the most commonly used in surgery. O positive is the most common type in people, and O negative is the “universal donor” and can be used for patients of any blood type, Ervin said.

According to Ervin, CBB will assess the blood supply on Friday to determine if the delay will continue. They may also encourage doctors to recommend direct donations, in which a family member or friend donates blood specifically for the patient, or autologous donations, in which the patient donates blood prior to surgery to be used during the procedure.

However, what the bank really needs is more donors, she said.

‘We’ll take anything we can get,” she said. “But the most critical right now is anything in group O.”

New and eligible donors can schedule an appointment to give blood by calling 1 (866) DONORS-1 or logging on to www.centralbloodbank.org. There are 22 donor centers in the Pittsburgh area.

“Get your butts in here,” Ervin said. “You can save up to three lives.”