AREA BLOOD DONATIONS WILL MAKE GOAL, RED CROSS OFFICIAL PREDICTS

An American Red Cross official says she's confident the Southeast Missouri/Southern Illinois area will meet its goal for blood donations this year.

"We're counting on it," said Pat Easton, director of donor services for the region. The goal for this year is 38,000 units for the 23-county area. Last year, 35,000 units of blood were collected in the area, Easton said.

With the holiday season approaching, she said, Red Cross blood services personnel will have a "little problem" reaching regular donors because of busy schedules, and new sites may need to be found for blood drives.

The demand for blood and blood products stays "about the same," Easton said, "but we don't have access to our regular donors." She estimated that about 300 new donors will need to be found in the area to maintain donations.

The American Red Cross's Southeast Missouri chapter recognized blood drive volunteers from Cape Girardeau, Bollinger and northern Scott counties last week with a special breakfast.

Thanks to the volunteers who donate blood, work blood drives and coordinate blood drive sites, "this area has a remarkable record," said Dave Palmer, blood services coordinator for the area.

Last year, 93 blood drives were held in the area. "We've increased the number of blood drives. We've increased the locations and the frequency of blood drives. We've increased everything," Palmer said.

Donors, volunteers and sites are always needed, Easton said, because there's always a shortage of blood somewhere. The American Red Cross supplies 45 percent of the blood collected nationally. In the Southeast Missouri/Southern Illinois region, the organization services 116 hospitals in 80 counties, she said.

"Blood donations have declined about 2 percent per year for the last five years," Easton said. Part of that is due to corporate downsizing and businesses which sponsored company blood drives shutting down.

"We've had almost a 5 percent loss due to increased testing" for HIV and other blood-borne diseases, she said. "That's great news for the recipients, but for you, that means you have to find new donors."

Before AIDS was recognized as a national epidemic, the American Red Cross tested blood for two diseases, Easton said. Since 1980, donated blood has been tested for seven diseases.