An urgent need for all blood types has been announced by LIFELINE Blood Services today. West Tennessee’s blood supply is at a critically low level and LIFELINE is in dire need of donors willing to roll up their sleeves as soon as possible.
“Due to high demand over the weekend and two local cardiovascular patients who require O positive blood, we have issued a Critical Appeal and urgently ask our donors to step up and make the time to donate today. Our West TN patients are counting on us!” said Melinda Reid, Marketing Manager with LIFELINE Blood Services.
The shortage is caused by low donor turn out at both Jackson and Dyersburg Centers as well as on our mobile blood drives coupled with high usage over the Labor Day weekend. LIFELINE Blood Services needs to draw about 450 units of whole blood each week to maintain an adequate blood supply.
LIFELINE Blood Services, located at 183 Sterling Farms Drive, is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. Walk-ins are welcome. The Dyersburg Center is located at 1130 HWY 51 Bypass, Suite 19 & 20, and is open Saturday and Wednesday 8 a.m. – 4 p.m., Sunday through Tuesday 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. No appointment is necessary to donate whole blood.
LIFELINE provides blood services to 21 West Tennessee counties, including 18 hospitals and 14 emergency helicopter service locations and 1 ground ambulance service. Annually, the Center collects approximately 26,000 blood products (red cell units, platelets, plasma, etc.) to meet the needs of patients. Of that total, 75% of those products are usually collected on the bloodmobiles across West Tennessee. LIFELINE also provides reference lab and cross-matching services to healthcare facilities. For more information, visit lifelinebloodserv.org.