Although Red Cross faces critical shortage of blood, local supplies steady

The Miller-Keystone Blood Center, which serves most of the region's hospitals, has adequate supplies for the busy summer months, an official said.

Even though the nation's largest blood bank is struggling to keep its supply levels up, an executive for the Lehigh Valley's main blood supplier says the non-profit is on track to meet its needs.

However, blood bank officials still urged people to donate blood this summer, when supplies are at their lowest and demand is at its highest.

The American Red Cross, which according to its website supplies blood to 3,000 hospitals across the country, announced earlier this week it has reached a critical shortage in donations. Its blood levels this year are half of what they were this time last year, according to a news release. The national organization is urging people to make donations.

A spokesman for the Pocono Medical Center, the only hospital in the region supplied with blood by the American Red Cross, said patient care has not been affected by the shortage.

Blood banks tend to feel the pinch during the summer, when blood drives slip off as people make way for their summer plans. Pat Smith, a spokesman for the New Jersey Blood Center, said his organization's supplies are fine, but he still encouraged people to donate. Summer holidays, like the upcoming Fourth of July, can be especially draining, he said.

"One of the big sources is schools. They're closed. After that, it's the work place. That falls off because people are on vacation," he said.

Despite the national organization's shortage, most of the Lehigh Valley region has adequate blood supplies. The Miller-Keystone Blood Center, which supplies St. Luke's University Health Network, Lehigh Valley Health Network, Easton Hospital and others, has stable supplies, said Joe Yelo, the non-profit's vice-president of administration and risk management.

Yelo said the center holds weekly meetings to ensure it will have the donations needed to meet the local demand for the coming months. He said Miller-Keystone Blood Center on average delivers to area hospitals enough plasma, red blood cells and platelets for 300 to 400 transfusions per day.

"Blood is needed every day," Yelo said. "We need to collect from 500 donors a day in our system. It's daunting."

HOW TO HELP

To donate blood, visit redcrossblood.org or giveapint.org for information.