I just heard a news report on the New York NBC Affiliate that blood is needed. Wherever you are, try to get to a blood donation site and give blood.
Will do Billdo, and thank you for giving us something constructive to do for the survivors while we weep for the victims.
On my way. Central Florida Blood Bank is not part of the Red Cross, but they are sending blood off to NY.
I had my regualry scheduled donation yesterday but my Emergeny Volunteer unit was asked to donate while we’re on alert and waiting to see if we get sent out.
The red cross line (1-800-Give-Life) is overloaded right now - or at least I keep getting an “All circuits are busy” line.
Does anyone know where the donation center is in Thousand Oaks, CA?
I heard the news here first. I was sitting at my desk drinking a jug of water to prepare for my regularly scheduled blood donation. As luck would have it, there is a city-wide blood drive going on this very day.
I am happy to report that there were a LOT more people there than I usually see…
Trying to contact our local unit so I can go down.
O negative here.
I really really really want to but they wouldn’t let me last week. Stupid anemia. Do you think they’d lower the standards a bit for such a big emergency?
On the left side of the screen is a link that will find the nearest donation center to your zip code
For those of you in the SF bay area, you can also go to Stanford’s blood center
http://www.med.stanford.edu/shs/handbook/bloodCTR.html and the number for
Community Blood Donation is 650-723-7831.
Even I am finally going to do so, despite being somewhere totally useless for the cause (Yukon Territory). Takes a week to be screened, and the lab’s in Vancouver. With all flights shut down, they don’t know when I can be confirmed.
But the hospital really really wants me to come in anyways. We get our emergency supplies from Vancouver as well, sooo…they like to know they have O neg on tap, so to speak.
I’d like to urge all Canadians as well to donate, no matter how isolated you feel from all this. If nothing else, the blood supply for all North America is going to be in serious trouble for a while, so every pint, no matter from where, counts.
For those of us who are not eligible to give blood because of, for example, the Red Cross’s restrictions on homosexual intercourse, what other centers or whatnot would work? Or is this a case of “we really don’t care, we just need the blood?”
According to our local red cross…
They said that because most of the injured are burn victims, there is a need for blood donation for the next week or more (I’m not proficient in this area but it is something to do with loss of platelets and reoccurring needs for transfusions in the same patients).
They are trying to mobilize their blood drive vans but at this time feel it is most helpful to encourage anyone who can give blood to call 1-800-GIVE LIFE to set up individual appointments to give blood. The need is not just for today but for the next several weeks.
For New Yorkers:
Two friends and I just went to St. Vincent’s hospital, one fo the two closest to the WTC. Staff told us that they cannot take any more blood donors right now, and that they’re overwhelmed with volunteers. They also confirmed that they will not take any blood from gay men - but suggested we return later this afternoon when they’ll need a second shift of volunteers.
Midtown and Uptown Dopers:
150 Amsterdam Ave between 65th and 66th streets. Show up after 4:00 PM, they are booked until then.
I also went to my local Red Cross this morning to donate. The wait was 4 hours! Isn’t America wonderful?? Where else in the world would people band together to help one another in a time of crisis. (No offense to our world Dopers here. I’m just proud to be an American at the moment :))
They were taking appointments for tomorrow when they will have more staff to handle the influx.
I’m in North Jersey at Rutgers New Brunswick…they’re running blood drives at all the hospitals here. I’d be in line now, except for the bullshit Red Cross regulation stating that anyone who’s lived in England since 1980 is not allowed to give blood for fear of CJK spread. It’s been 12 years since I lived there, and I think I’m well past the incubation period now. Confounded bureaucracies…
I just got back from the NYC Red Cross at 66th and Amsterdam. They said that they weren’t taking additional donors until 6:00 p.m.
I tried – the only thing that keeps me from donating regularly is the weight limit, which I’m only two pounds under – but they still won’t let me, emergency or no emergency.
Drat! I’m perfectly healthy, with nice A blood. I know they don’t want to drain me dry, but I’m barely underweight. I don’t think it’d matter much.
On the upside, the place was PACKED.
I just heard on the radio that the Austin Blood and Tissue Center has two to three hour wait to donate. I’ll donate when I get a chance.
I just tried to donate in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The wait is 3 hours, I will try again later.