Northern California Community Blood Bank is Running Low on “O” and “A” Blood Types

“It is summertime and for some reason we cannot stay caught up or catch up,” Dee Vallee, a donor Recruiter at the Northern California Community Blood Bank said.  

Summer is a difficult season for the community blood bank, with school out of session, donations are slim and the shelves are quickly running low.

“Colleges and high schools who give out 20% of our blood donations are not in session right now,” Vallee said. “We do rely on them during the fall and during the winter months. But right now, the hospitals have been asking for so much more blood than they normally do.”

The blood bank provides blood to hospitals and medical facilities throughout the region. Vallee states that it’s been an unusually busy season this year for hospitals and right now the bank only has two o negatives in stock.

“37% of the population is ‘O’ so we always will need O+ and O- is a universal blood, it can go to any type if you’re in an accident or if you’re up in the trauma center they will give you o-negative first,” Vellee said. “Now ‘A-’ or ‘A+’ are the next ones up under O+ that are more popular, more people have that blood type, so we’ve used a lot of it. The hospitals have not stopped calling us to send them some more. usually we’ll send 3 or 4, they’re asking for ten or 12.”

This shortage could put local lives at risk. Without a sufficient supply patients may not get the care that they need.

To see how you can donate and what days the bank is open visit: www.nccbb.net