Blood

[mybrainhurts]

Was going to tag this on to the donor thread, but it's closed.

Just something to bear in mind.....from someone in the service.

Donations at the time of disaster can be a problem. A huge number of donors came forward in the aftermath of 9/11. In the event, the blood wasn't needed because most victims were dead.

Because blood has a shelf life, the excess had to be disposed of.

A bigger problem was the fact that donors have to wait for a period before donating again, and this led to a shortage thoughout the US for a while.

I stand to be corrected, but this information came from somebody who suppiles equipment in the UK. He learned this from a colleague in the States.

[Lois]

It's very true, we need to spread out the bloody supply.

[cotty]

But blood is not just used as blood some of it is broken down into its components and I believe some of it can be stored for a longer period. But I agree with what you are saying

[speedychrissie]

i completely understand where you are coming from but surely it shouldnt really have any effect. because people who are donating for the first time because of a disaster would not have given blood anyway so do not contribute to the shortage and people who normally do donate can only do so if tehy have waited long enough after their last donation.
what it might do is create a slight short term imbalance in donation because every 4 months after such an event there might be more poeple thinking of donating again, but i dnt see how it can create a shortage unless the nurses allow people to donate less than 4 months after their last donation.

only my view tho.
chris