'Extreme Blood Shortage' in Half Moon Bay, Bay Area Prompts Public Appeal

Bay Area, CA – Citing a "precarious two-day supply" level of blood reserves in parts of California, the Blood Centers of the Pacific issued a public appeal for donors this week.

The San Francisco-based organization is currently experiencing a shortage throughout its service area, which ranges up north to the Oregon border, east to Northern Nevada and south in the Merced area, according to
the organization.

"Currently, the fluctuating blood inventory level has been trending at an approximate two-day supply for patients, which is half of the ideal quantity needed to provide a safe and available blood inventory," officials said in a news release.

According to the agency, reserves of whole blood in their service area are about 3,000 pints below "ideal inventory levels," which equates to some 9,000 lives that could be saved.

“It is critical that we are prepared to respond to blood needs because it is a matter of life and death," said Dr. Suchitra Pandey, Chief Medical Officer/Medical Director at Blood Centers of the Pacific. "This unprecedented shortage of blood has great potential to compromise our ability to support the transfusions that physicians need to care for, or even save the lives of, their patients. Additionally, many transfusion-dependent patients have been requiring unusually large quantities of blood components the last few months.”

Over the last year, demand for blood at hospitals has increased. Compared to July 2015, blood center officials estimate about 500 more pints of red blood cells will be needed this month alone to meet the demand.

What's more, blood donations are usually not as frequent in the summer months because of summer breaks at high schools and colleges, where blood drives are usually hosted. This summer, however, has seen an unusually low number of donations, in part because of the effects of the Zika virus, according to the
organization.

Blood Centers of the Pacific says they need at least 8,000 donors a week to meet the local blood supply demand. The agency and its partners provide blood to more than 100 hospitals in the Bay Area and elsewhere.

To schedule a donation appointment, you can visit bloodheroes.com or call 1-888-393-GIVE (4483).

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– Bay City News Service contributed to this report. (Image via Shutterstock)