Blood center puts out
urgent call for donors
The call is out and the need is great for area residents to help refill the Monmouth County blood supply.
Melissa McGuire, community relations director of the Central Jersey Blood Center, Shrewsbury, said the blood supply in the county has been extremely low in recent weeks, particularly for blood types O positive and O negative.
"It’s been this way since before the Fourth of July," McGuire said. "There’s just been a consistent need from all of the medical centers and hospitals throughout the area."
McGuire said this has been a problem throughout the nation. Blood centers in the New York metropolitan area and the entire tristate area have found the situation to be critical. This fact makes it very difficult for blood centers in this area to rely on other blood centers for assistance, she said.
McGuire noted that sometimes blood centers in other parts of the country, such as the Midwest, can send blood here if they are not dealing with a high demand.
"But they are finding they’re short, too," she said. "We’re really relying on our community to respond and we’re happy to say there are people who are responding, but it does take a number of weeks to build up the supply to a level where all of the hospitals are getting the amount of blood they need to treat the patients they have."
A normal inventory, meaning the number of pints that should be on hand at the blood center at any one time, is 250 units of O positive blood, according to McGuire.
"At one point we had none available," McGuire explained. "There was blood in the blood center, but it had not been completely tested. It was still in the processing stage."
Less than 10 percent of the population has O negative blood, the universal donor, which can be given to anyone.
Although the blood supply is just starting to build up again, McGuire said there are fewer than 50 units of O positive blood on the shelves at the blood center.
"It’s probably more like 30 and it should be 250 (units)," she said. "As quickly as blood is coming in and being tested, it’s going right back out to the hospitals."
Blood collected by the Central Jersey Blood Center is used at hospitals throughout Monmouth County and parts of Middlesex County, including CentraState Medical Center, Freehold Township; Jersey Shore Medical Center, Neptune; Riverview Medical Center, Red Bank; and Bayshore Community Hospital, Holmdel.
"We also supply Brick Hospital and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick and a couple of hospitals in northern New Jersey," she said. "But at this time, all of the blood that we collect is staying here in this area."
McGuire said critical demand is caused by the lack of donations that are required to meet the ongoing needs of regional medical centers.
"As people are living longer and medical procedures are more sophisticated that has an impact on the need for blood, and now we are vying for volunteers’ time," said McGuire. "It takes an hour to donate. We’re competing against a lot. People have good intentions, but they just don’t get here. That’s the biggest hurdle."
In addition to the blood center in Shrewsbury, a second facility, the Howell Donor Center, is in the Howell Plaza shopping center, 4068 Route 9 at Aldrich Road. Donations may be made at the Howell facility Tuesday and Thursday from 1-8 p.m. and Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon.
Donors should be at least 17 years old and weigh at least 110 pounds. They should eat a good meal before they donate and bring a signature identification, like a driver’s license, to the blood drive. People who are on medication should not assume they cannot give blood, she said.
"If a donor has a question about his eligibility he can call the blood center at (732) 842-5750 or come to a blood drive and speak confidentially to the nurses. Don’t assume that you can’t donate," McGuire said.
The next local blood drive will be held July 27 from 4-8 p.m on the ground floor level near the J.C. Penney department store at Freehold Raceway Mall, Freehold Township.
Other dates and locations include: Aug. 11, Freehold Elks, 73 E. Main St., Freehold Borough; Aug. 17, CentraState Medical Center, Route 537 Freehold Township, bloodmobile at outpatient department; Aug. 22, Jackson Township Volunteer Fire Co. No. 1, Larson and New Prospect roads, Jackson; Aug. 24, Freehold Township Independent Fire Co. No. 1 at the firehouse, Siloam Road Route 527 and Route 537, Freehold Township; and Aug. 31, Freehold Township Municipal Plaza, Schanck and Stillwells Corner roads, Freehold Township.
Donations can also be made at the Shrewsbury facility, 494 Sycamore Ave., Shrewsbury, on Monday and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.