# The urgent appeal for blood donations is not needed **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [September 17, 2001, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-urgent-appeal-for-blood-donations-is-not-needed/82262 "2001-09-17T21:50:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![curious\_george](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b487fb/32.png) [@curious\_george](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curious_george)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2001, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-urgent-appeal-for-blood-donations-is-not-needed/82262/1 "2001-09-17T21:50:29Z")
Why is there an appeal for blood at the top of every forum here? From what i gather, it is not needed: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=87868](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=87868) Did SDMB get a special request from the Red Cross or something? ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2001, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-urgent-appeal-for-blood-donations-is-not-needed/82262/2 "2001-09-17T21:54:44Z")
While most Red Cross locations report having more people than they can easily handle showing up to give blood, they’re also taking appointments for the times to come when they won’t have crowds and will really need donations. They’re going to need blood for days and weeks and months to come. So it’s worth leaving up for right now. Make an appointment, go give blood. And when you can, do it again. your humble TubaDiva Administrator ---
**Author:** ![curious\_george](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b487fb/32.png) [@curious\_george](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curious_george)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2001, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-urgent-appeal-for-blood-donations-is-not-needed/82262/3 "2001-09-17T22:08:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TubaDiva \* They’re going to need blood for days and weeks and months to come. Why do you anticipate this? They won’t need it to help WTC victims, right? Or are you expecting a blood shortage due to more bombings or a war? ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2001, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-urgent-appeal-for-blood-donations-is-not-needed/82262/4 "2001-09-17T22:14:29Z")
and/or, while you’re calling make a donation or see if there’s any other way to help. and **cg** yes, the WTC victims will need blood for quite a while to come, PLUS, any large demand will deplete supplies, making it a problem for a while, plus, after an event like this some elective surgeries would have gotten postponed and the blood used for WTC/related stuff. ---
**Author:** ![curious\_george](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b487fb/32.png) [@curious\_george](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curious_george)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2001, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-urgent-appeal-for-blood-donations-is-not-needed/82262/5 "2001-09-17T22:18:54Z")
Was there a large demand? I thought most victims were killed, and there were not many injured. Please see the thread I mention at the start for a discussion of this. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2001, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-urgent-appeal-for-blood-donations-is-not-needed/82262/6 "2001-09-17T22:25:51Z")
Blood supplies are usually low at the end of summer, so yes, the blood banks needed replenishing anyway. I don’t know about anyone else’s area, but here in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex we frequently are critically low on blood. Plus, I think that giving blood is one of the more positive ways to show support and compassion, much better than lighting a candle or wearing a ribbon. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2001, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-urgent-appeal-for-blood-donations-is-not-needed/82262/7 "2001-09-17T22:48:59Z")
I thought they weren’t needed too; but then I actually READ what the message said when clicked on, & it said to call & see if they need blood…which is the point really. ---
**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2001, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-urgent-appeal-for-blood-donations-is-not-needed/82262/8 "2001-09-18T03:13:40Z")
Yes, the U.S. is perpetually in a blood crisis. We have been for years. Occasionally supplies run short and in some areas they have to postpone elective surgeries, and leukemia patients start to fret about not getting needed platelets. As for the survivors of this tragedy…burn victims do need a lot of blood, so what few hospitalized casualties there are probably have high blood needs. However… even if the blood gathered during this crisis isn’t needed for terrorism victims, it offers us an unprecedented chance to get supplies in good shape, to get more people to give, and to get donors to commit to return visits. Currently only 5% of eligible donors give… that’s 5% of eligible donors supplying blood for the the entire nation’s needs. And they say 8 out of 10 people will need blood at some point in their lives. Blood can only be stored for 6 weeks, so they always need more. After this crisis is over, maybe we’ll be in better shape because more active donors are on the rolls. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2001, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-urgent-appeal-for-blood-donations-is-not-needed/82262/9 "2001-09-18T15:55:59Z")
Someone might get miffed thinking the Red Cross is “taking advantage” of the situation, and using this as an excuse even though the victims of the terrorists won’t need it. I don’t. For one thing, everybody I know seems to be looking for **something** to do to help. Well, giving blood **will** help. Maybe not directly the victims of the attack, but it will help many Americans who are every bit in need of the gift of life. And it will make you feel better contributing something. So I say keep it up. ---
**Author:** ![curious\_george](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b487fb/32.png) [@curious\_george](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curious_george)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2001, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-urgent-appeal-for-blood-donations-is-not-needed/82262/10 "2001-09-18T20:36:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by handy \* > I thought they weren’t needed too; but then I actually READ what the message said when clicked on, & it said to call & see if they need blood…which is the point really. Handy, I read the message, don’t get in a huff. More importantly, I think the title said “please donate blood for the WTC victims”, but I can’t remember. The message is gone now. I don’t know anything about this time of year always having a blood shortage, burn victims needing more blood, etc. All I know is the message seemed like it was asking every SDMB member here to donate blood directly for the WTC victims. While a noble cause, I just thought that was overboard, since it seems like there are so few actual injured victims that survived. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-urgent-appeal-for-blood-donations-is-not-needed/82262/11 "2001-09-19T06:19:00Z")
This is not intended to be a discussion of the Red Cross; that’s another thread for another forum. We felt, like many others around the world, that we would want to do SOMETHING tangible, something useful, we want to help. Not all of us are ironworkers or firefighters (the two biggest groups needed right this second) and so giving blood, giving money, organizing drives, etc., that’s something useful that we can do. That makes all the notices most meaningful, at least to me. your humble TubaDiva Administrator ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-urgent-appeal-for-blood-donations-is-not-needed/82262/12 "2001-09-19T21:52:31Z")
It appears the notice is now gone, so the question is moot. ---
**Author:** ![IzzyR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/2acd7d/32.png) [@IzzyR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IzzyR)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2001, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-urgent-appeal-for-blood-donations-is-not-needed/82262/13 "2001-11-12T20:17:33Z")
Looks like the OP was onto something. From the Washington Post: [Red Cross Collected Unneeded Blood](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8969-2001Nov10.html) > [@](#): > > The American Red Cross collected hundreds of thousands of blood donations after Sept. 11 knowing that the blood could not be used for victims of the terrorist attacks. > > After selling some of the surplus blood to hospitals, the Red Cross has begun to destroy thousands of pints that have outlasted their shelf life. Directors of several Red Cross blood centers said their sites may discard as many as 1 of every 5 donations and the national total could easily reach tens of thousands. > > The charitable outpouring offered an opportunity for the $2.5 billion-a-year organization to restock its depleted blood inventory. Although the Red Cross told the public that surplus blood would be frozen, it did not have the resources to freeze large amounts of excess blood, according to documents and interviews. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2001, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-urgent-appeal-for-blood-donations-is-not-needed/82262/14 "2001-11-13T06:37:26Z")
\ Really too bad, isn’t it? your humble TubaDiva Administrator