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NewsJuly 5, 2001

Restrictions on blood donations aimed at reducing the risk of mad cow disease in the United States don't mean the blood supply isn't already safe, say officials with the American Red Cross and area hospitals. Experts are concerned that people who might have eaten contaminated beef could carry the disease and transmit it through their blood. Health officials and the Food and Drug Administration are exploring how to impose restrictions...

Restrictions on blood donations aimed at reducing the risk of mad cow disease in the United States don't mean the blood supply isn't already safe, say officials with the American Red Cross and area hospitals.

Experts are concerned that people who might have eaten contaminated beef could carry the disease and transmit it through their blood. Health officials and the Food and Drug Administration are exploring how to impose restrictions.

It's important for people to understand that the Red Cross wants to make its blood one of the safest products available, and to do so might mean reacting on the side of safety, said David Palmer, donor recruitment representative for the American Red Cross blood services division in Missouri and Illinois.

The FDA now forbids anyone from donating who has spent six months or more in Great Britain between 1980 and 1996 or who lived a total of 10 years in France or Portugal since 1980.

The Red Cross wants even tougher restrictions on the blood supply, suggesting that anyone who has been in Europe for six months or more since 1980 should be prohibited from donating blood.

Health experts predict that the restrictions will limit the nation's blood supply, but Palmer expects there to be little impact or restrictions on donors in Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois. He said areas of the country where there are military bases might see a greater impact.

Limits could hamper supply

Putting more limits on the blood supply could create hardships, however. Holidays and summertime are already the hardest times of year to meet blood supply requirements for the region. Adding restrictions might not help.

Adding more testing at the laboratory in St. Louis, where blood is processed, could slow down and hurt the supply locally, said Gene Farrow, medical lab technician in the blood bank at Southeast Missouri Hospital.

Farrow said there hasn't been any shortage yet, but the blood supply can dwindle easily.

On Tuesday, the hospital had 11 units of Type O- blood, which can be used for any patient.

"But it can go quickly," Farrow said. "It could go quicker than they could get it over here even if they have it."

When the number of donors decreases, there isn't as much blood available for use by hospitals and medical centers. The Missouri-Illinois region for the Red Cross blood services serves 128 hospitals total, 28 of them in Southeast Missouri.

About 1,100 units of blood are needed each day to keep those hospitals supplied properly for surgeries and transfusions, and that's what the Red Cross tries to collect at its drives throughout the region.

The next blood drive is Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Wal-Mart parking lot.

Mike Long, the golf pro at the Kennett, Mo., Country Club, doesn't even know how much blood his body needed during an emergency open-heart surgery, but he was glad a supply was available.

"You hate to say I had no other choice, but I didn't have time to make any other arrangements," Long said.

Sometimes patients can donate their own blood for surgery or use blood donated by a relative or friend, Palmer said. Those donations are directed donations and are held at the hospital until the surgery.

"It's for peace of mind," Palmer said. Of course, the safest blood is a person's own, but Palmer said he would have no reservations about accepting blood from a Red Cross donor.

Without regular donors, the Red Cross wouldn't be able to maintain its inventory levels and that could mean a shortage. Sometimes the Red Cross can supply all the requested blood supply from hospitals and other times only a percentage, Palmer said.

"We go through some pretty bumpy times," said Peggy Kitchen, supervisor of the Red Cross blood distribution center in Cape Girardeau.

Palmer cited statistics: 5 percent of the population donates blood for the other 95 percent. There are plenty of regulars who come to every blood drive, and just as many who donate for the first time. If another 1 percent of the population would become regular donors, then there would never be a blood shortage, he said.

The last critical stage for the region's blood supply came last month.

"That first week of June we were feeling a major crunch," Palmer said. "Now we're hanging in there, but this week will tell what will happen."

Urgent reponses

Farrow said that there have been times when the blood was delivered from St. Louis to the hospital by a Missouri State Highway Patrol officer because of an urgent demand. But that situation isn't ideal.

Southeast tries to keep 10 units of Type O- in stock and 20 units each of Types A+ and B+, and eight or 10 units of A- type.

The Red Cross keeps a three-day supply of blood on hand at its distribution center in case of emergencies like a disaster or serious accident. The two hospitals in Cape Girardeau can have almost immediate access to the supply, Kitchen said.

The blood bank at St. Francis Medical Center tries to keep 40 units each of Type A+ and O+ blood on hand because those are the most common types of blood. The blood bank supplies 10 units of Type O- and four each of B+ and AB+ types.

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Any time a patient comes into the hospital, whether for emergencies or for scheduled surgeries, "you try to get their type as quickly as you can," said Marilyn Hughey, blood bank supervisor. "You never know how much they will require."

Within a year's period, 15,000 units of red cells were used by hospitals in Cape Girardeau, Perryville, Mo., and Sikeston, Mo. In that same time, only 1,040 units of white cells were used from the Red Cross blood distribution center. The count for white cells is much lower because the product is more concentrated. One unit of white cells is like getting 10 times the normal donation, Kitchen said. White cells are commonly given to heart bypass patients and cancer patients undergoing radiation treatments.

It's rare for patients to get whole blood since one donated pint can be used by many different people. Hospitals order their blood supply in red cells or white cells.

Want to donate?

Friday

11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Wal-Martparking lot in Cape Girardeau.

Wednesday

4 to 8 p.m. at the Church of Christin Jackson, Mo.

Thursday

7 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the educationconference rooms at the St. Francis Medical Center.

July 15

8:30 to noon at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Leopold, Mo.

July 16

3 to 7 p.m. at Lynwood Baptist Churchin Cape Girardeau

Who can donate?

* Most healthy people, 17 or older, can donate blood every 56 days.

* In Illinois you can donate at age 16, with a signed permission form from the Red Cross.

* Platelets can be donated up to 24 times a year.

How long does it take?

The entire process takes about an hour. It usually takes 10 to 15 minutes for the blood to flow into the collection container.

How much blood is collected?

One pint of blood is collected into a plastic container; the average adult's body contains 10 to 12 pints of blood. In addition to the pint, small tubes are filled for blood testing.

The Red Cross uses 12 different tests to make sure its blood supply is safe; blood donations also are tested for specific types. There is no chance that you can contract a disease from donating.

How is a blood donation used?

Blood donations are used during surgery or for transfusions. The components of whole blood are red blood cells, platelets, plasma and white blood cells.

* Red blood cells transport oxygen to the lungs and tissues in the body. Anemic patients benefit from red blood cell donations.

* Platelets are small bits of cells that repair damaged blood vessel walls and help produce blood clots. They help control bleeding in patients who have some forms of cancer.

* Plasma is about 55 percent of blood and contains vital proteins for the body. Plasma is used to treat patients who develop bleeding problems during surgery.

* White blood cells help the body fight against disease.

-American Red Cross blood services

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