A shortage of blood hindering transplants

A nationwide shortage of O positive and O negative blood is affecting Utah patients who are candidates for transplants that require those blood types.

"This is the first time I've ever had a medical director come up and say, 'We're in a critical need,"' said Lance Bandley, spokesman for ARUP Blood Services, which provides blood to the University Hospital, Huntsman Cancer Institute, Primary Children's Medical Center and Shriners Hospital for Children.

Bad weather across the nation, along with the cold and flu season, has meant fewer people are donating blood, ARUP's vice president Karen Nielsen said.

The Red Cross last week said extreme weather in the Pacific Northwest was affecting blood supplies, but the group made no mention then about any shortage of specific blood types.

Nielson said Thursday that at least one patient awaiting an organ transplant must hold on until there is enough blood on reserve for the surgery.

"We don't have the product to support the anticipated need for

the surgery," Nielsen said. "We called everybody in the nation this morning. We're stuck. We need O positive and O negative."

Nielsen estimated that ARUP needs 60 people to donate O positive blood and 40 people to donate O negative within the next few days before she'll feel comfortable with ARUP's on-hand supply.

Anyone who may have been deferred recently because of a cold, flu or some other reason is encouraged to ask again about donating. ARUP officials are contacting media, stepping up the "desperate" search for the critical blood types at current drives and calling past donors.

"This has to work," Bandley said about ARUP's efforts. "We're just going to ask and ask and ask."

For more information about when and where to donate, call 801-584-5272 or visit the Web site, www.utahblood.org.

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E-mail: sspeckman@desnews.com