By:MELISSA O'HARA
People urged to help fill gap
Summertime trips, recent tattoos or body piercing, and living for five years or more in Western Europe are some of the events or activities getting in between the American population and a fully adequate blood supply, causing a recent alarm in hospitals and blood banks all across the area.
With the recent demand for blood growing and summer vacations upon us, Long Island Blood Services is trying to get the message out that "we need to become more active donors." So said Joseph Murray, account manager for LI Blood Services.
The thought that the human form of Mad Cow disease may be spread through blood has caused the Food & Drug Administration to think of widening its restrictions on those who are able to donate. Harvey Schaffler, Blood director of marketing and business development services at LIBS, explained that New York State receives 25% of their blood from Europe.
"The ability to import blood from Europe will be eliminated because of the new FDA guidelines, that people who have lived in Western Europe for 5 years or more can not donate. The concern has not been documented that you can transmit the human form of mad cows disease, but it is better to be safe than sorry," said Schaffler.
Breaking down the overall percentage of blood New York receives, Murray said, "we would be loosing 25% from Europe plus 10% from the current Long Island donating population."
Donating blood is something you can do every 56 days. You must be 17 to 76 years old, weigh at least 110 pounds and be in general good health. If you have had a tattoo or body part pierced within the past year you are not "fit to donate," according to FDA standards.
To make sure you are fit to donate, Schaffler explained that donors will receive a mini- mini-physical, checking their blood pressure, pulse, temperature and iron level.
The actual donation takes about eight to nine minutes, but the prep time before takes about an hour. "What else can you do for an hour of time to save a life," Schaffler added.
All blood is screened for hepatitis and HIV. A donor blood card indicating what blood type the donor has is given out. From one person's blood donation, three people's lives can be saved by using the different components of the blood, explained
Schaffler.
Area churches and organizations are taking a fighting step to help raise the level of blood in blood banks. "We have the people, we need to now educate, make them realize if they are in a car accident or are suffering from a major illness, they will need blood from the community blood bank," said Murray.
The Valley Stream Fire Department has always supported blood drives. Spokesperson Walter Weltner said "we are definitely planning a blood drive in September or early October but we have not set an exact date."
Other LI Blood-Service-Sponsored donation sites in our area include:
July 27: Hewlett, KeySpan 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Karen Mullen (516) 792-7256
July 29: New Hyde Park, LIJ Hospital 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Visalam Chandra (718) 470-7050
July 31: Elmont, St. Boniface parish, 3:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., Sister Evelyn Lamour (516) 354-0715
Aug. 5: New Hyde Park, St Catherine of Sienna, 8:15 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., William Rottkamp (516) 481-7938
