"Eww, yuck, gross," said Beena White, director of marketing andcommunications for Lifeblood, to show the first response mostpeople have about blood. White, who has been working with Lifebloodfor a little over a year, still thinks "eww, yuck, gross."
Representatives from the education, government, corporate,faith-based and nonprofit community came together Tuesday atLifeblood's first Community Forum to examine the local blood supplyand to develop ideas to increase local collections. Approximately200 individuals attended the forum at the FedEx Institute ofTechnology.
Louis Katz, president of America's Blood Centers, discussed thenational blood supply and the critical role community leaders mustplay in addressing the chronic local blood shortage. BruceSteinhauer, CEO of the Regional Medical Center, and Martin Croce,head of The Med's emergency room, provided a firsthand perspectiveof the adverse effects stemming from Memphis' unstable blood supplyand its impact on patient care.
Blood supplies have climbed back up from the winter's criticalnational shortage. However, supplies are still only 50 to 60percent of the recommended levels, according to Lifeblood.
On Jan. 12, Lifeblood's overall supply was at 30 percent ofrecommended levels. The Memphis community pulled together andhelped raise these levels, and though the levels are increasing,they are below recommended levels, officials said.
Memphis is a major medical center and has to have double thesupply of blood that most medical centers need to run day-to-day,Lifeblood officials said. Blood only has a shelf life of 42 days,so supplies must be continuously replenished.
The forum was the result of work by the Lifeblood Foundation'sCommunity Issue Task Force, chaired by Ray Pohlman, AutoZonedirector of government affairs. Pohlman discussed the chronicshortage at the forum. Task force members agreed that Memphis'chronic blood shortage can be overcome if the community tackles thechallenge directly -- with people realizing the valuable role theycan play as individuals and as advocates within their groups.
The forum was also organized to bring together Lifeblood'slargest donor groups. Lifeblood collects 830 group donationsannually. These are split into five groups -- corporate,educational, faith-based, nonprofit and others.
Corporate and faith-based groups account for the largestpercentage of donations at 35 percent and 39 percent, respectively.Lifeblood is Memphis' only full-service blood center, and is thearea's leading provider of blood and blood components to areahospitals. Community hospitals need more than 100,000 units of redblood cells each year, and volunteer donors of Lifeblood provideabout half of those units. The remainder is imported from othervolunteer blood centers across the country.
The biggest problem Lifeblood faces is that only half of alleligible donors are actually able to donate blood, and only 5percent of those actually do.
During the forum, individuals participated in sessions examininghow government, educational institutions, faith-based groups andnonprofit organizations can collaborate with Lifeblood to helpaddress the need for blood in the Memphis area. Community leadersalso challenged participants to inspire their group members tocollaborate with Lifeblood to achieve a self-sufficient local bloodsupply.
Former Shelby County Mayor Bill Morris, a Lifeblood boardmember, facilitated one of the sessions.
"It's encouraging to see public interest permeating thiscommunity about an issue which can be solved," Morris said.
In 2003, there were 40,000 units of blood donated from groupdonors. However, approximately 53,000 total units of blood werecollected, thanks to the average person walking in and donating,Lifeblood officials said.
The need for type-O blood is the most important in Memphisbecause it is the universal donor.
Type-B is also "very important because of the demographics inMemphis," Beena said. "It is the most prominent among AfricanAmericans."
Those wishing to donate must be healthy, at least 17 years oldand 110 pounds and meet other requirements. To find one of theseven centers in Shelby County or to schedule an appointment,contact the Lifeblood Mid-South Regional Center at 522-8585, orvisit www.lifeblood.org.
