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Blood shortage: Critical need for donations in north Georgia; hospitals postpone elective surgeries

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Updated  January 18, 2024 10:50pm EST
Health Care
FOX 5 Atlanta

Critical blood shortage in north Georgia

A blood center is in dire need of donations to the point it asked north Georgia hospital to put all elective surgeries on hold. What you can do to end the critical need.

ATLANTA - A blood center that supplies North Georgia’s hospitals with blood has asked them to put off elective surgeries.

That’s because of a critical shortage of most blood types, according to Blood Assurance President J.B.Gaskins.

As of Thursday afternoon, the blood center had less than a half-day supply of most blood types on its shelves, including O-negative, and O-positive, the two types most utilized for transfusions.

Early Thursday morning, medics rushed patients involved in a bad crash on Interstate 75 to Piedmont Cartersville Medical Center.

At least one required a massive blood transfusion, Gaskin said, putting the region’s inventory at critical levels.

It’s not clear how many patients needed the blood, but the single incident was enough to plunge north Georgia’s blood supplies into the red zone.

"We’re probably below even half a day's supply right now," Gaskin said.

Amid a critical shortage, he’s asked more than seventy hospitals in the region to postpone elective surgeries until next Wednesday at the earliest.

The hospitals impacted include:

  • Blairsville - Union General Hospital
  • Blue Ridge - Fannin Regional
  • Calhoun - Gordon County
  • Cartersville - Cartersville Medical Center
  • Cedartown - Polk County Medical Center
  • Chatsworth - Murray Medical Center
  • Dalton - Hamilton Medical Center
  • Fort Oglethorpe - CHI Memorial Hospital Georgia
  • Hiwassee - Chatuge Regional Medical
  • Rome - Atrium Health Floyd
  • Rome - AdventHealth Redmond

"The weather has impacted our ability to collect," Gaskins said. "We can’t get blood mobiles out all the time."

He says the cold snap drove donations down – and now they need time to rebuild their supplies – which could take at least a week.

"We’re hoping by that point, with the weather improving next week, that we will be able to get back out to do the blood drives, but we still need people to respond now," he said.

NATIONAL BLOOD SHORTAGE: GEORGIA CHILD’S STRUGGLE HIGHLIGHTS URGENT NEED FOR DONATIONS

The shortage is a national problem – impacting other blood centers across the country – including the American Red Cross.

Gaskins says they’re in crisis, now pleading for people to brave the cold and donate blood and platelets.

"When [the weather’s] like this, you’re not going out," Gaskins said. "You’ll say I’ll wait to go to the grocery store; I’ll donate blood next week. We need it now."

Blood Assurance has information on how you can donate and host a blood drive on its website.