Donations leave center short on blood

INDIANAPOLIS -- The surge in blood donations after last year's terrorist attacks has long since faded, leaving the blood center that covers much of central and southern Indiana with far less than its normal supplies.\nThe Indiana Blood Center's shortage has been critical since April 17, prompting the center to try everything from a Greek cookout to merchandise giveaways to lure donors, spokeswoman Elise Brown said.\nSo far, no hospitals have had to cancel elective surgeries, but Brown said they don't want to put hospitals in that position.\nThe blood center needs about 500 donations a day to maintain an adequate supply, she said, but has averaged 200 to 300 daily donors throughout the summer.\n"We are constantly in a critical shortage because we have back orders, and hospitals are calling and putting in orders every day," Brown said. "We're very conservative when we call it critical; we could call it much more than we do."\nThe blood center is expecting a big turnout on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, so it will set up donation stations at Conseco Fieldhouse, said Bill Reed, the center's vice president of operations.\nOf the thousands of people who donated blood in the four days after the attacks -- half of whom were first-time donors -- 36 percent have donated again, officials said.\nDr. Tim Hannon, medical director of St. Vincent Hospital's blood conservation program, said the shortage was especially telling because central Indiana has a good donor base and was less likely to have troubles than other areas of the country.\n"In the old days, they got nervous if it dropped below a three- to five-day supply," Hannon said. "Now most blood banks would love that buffer."\nThe supply has been affected partly by stricter donor standards that took effect last September, Brown said. To protect the public from the human form of mad cow disease, people who have spent six months in Europe since 1980, or three months in the United Kingdom, are ineligible to donate.\nAlso, more people are being turned away for low iron levels, after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration changed the way blood banks check those levels, Brown said.\n"We had to defer 500 people a month in May, June and July," she said. "If we had all 1,500 right now, the supply would not be critical."\nBlood donations usually drop in the summer because people take vacations, and high schools and colleges -- the sites of many blood drives -- are closed. During this time the centers get as creative as they can, said Dr. Dan Waxman, the blood center's medical director.\nOn Tuesday, people who donated at the main blood center received a gyro sandwich. Those who donated at other places received a certificate for a sandwich at an upcoming Greek festival and a festival T-shirt.\nAlso this summer, the center has given away compact disc carrying cases, T-shirts and movie tickets, and has held promotions with a local radio station.\n"We do any type of thing to be of interest and motivate people," Waxman said. "Donors truly are volunteers"