Florida blood donations keep the national supply flowing

By MARY SPICUZZA
Published September 8, 2005

---

Dan Eberts says Florida Blood Services was "in the pits" going into Labor Day weekend.

Eberts, director of marketing and communications for the St. Petersburg blood bank, said the Tampa Bay region had suffered through a rough few months.

"This was one of our driest summers in memory," Eberts said. "The blood donor drought was pretty severe."

Then Hurricane Katrina hit. Local banks issued an urgent plea for blood.

Donations began pouring into Florida Blood Services' donor centers in Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco and Manatee counties. The blood bank received about 1,000 more donations than usual.

"Our inventory is the best it's been," Eberts said.

Florida Blood Services staff members know blood is both a local and a national resource. So, after ensuring they had enough inventory to supply its service area, they decided to share their blood with other banks for the first time in months.

Florida Blood Services quickly shipped 100 platelet donations to Lifeblood, a bank based in Memphis. It sent another 25 units to LifeSouth Community Blood Centers, a nonprofit volunteer blood center based in Gainesville, which serves Hernando and Citrus counties as well as parts of Georgia and Alabama.

LifeSouth shipped its extra blood to hospitals in Mobile, Ala., and Mississippi.

While hurricanes typically do not cause a lot of trauma injuries, they do damage the nation's blood flow.

"The blood supply is affected," Karen Rhodenizer, a spokeswoman for LifeSouth, said. "In some cases, it's completely shut down."

The American Red Cross and blood banks across the country were prepared.

"We've been able to shift our blood supplies from different places in the country to the places where the hospitals need it most," Red Cross spokesman Ryland Dodge said.

Mary Spicuzza can be reached at mspicuzza@sptimes.com or 352 848-1432.