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LifeSouth Facing Emergency Blood Shortage

53 views · Published 11 February 2015 · 0:37 · Indexed 20 October 2026

Channel: NBC 15 · 2015 · News & Politics

MOBILE, Ala. (WPMI) During the holiday months, blood donations tend to decline but this winters flu epidemic and the cold weather in the southeast has cut even deeper into the blood supply.

This is coming at a time when supplies were already low because of reduced donations during the winter holidays, said LifeSouth Vice President of Operations J.B. Bowles, meanwhile, blood usage at many of our hospitals is far above normal, making the shortage even more serious.

According to LifeSouth, donations are down 40%, this has especially impacted the supply of Type O blood which is needed most.

O-negative is the universal blood type that can be used by anyone in emergencies. O-positive can be used by anyone with a positive blood type, said Bowles, we are in desperate need of healthy donors to come out and donate blood.

The Centers for Disease Control reported in early January that 43 states, including Florida, Georgia and Alabama, are experiencing either high or widespread flu activity.

We are in emergency need. We only use this term when inventory levels are at the very lowest, explained Bowles, it means our hospitals have less than a two-day supply and LifeSouth does not have the blood available to resupply the hospitals when that blood is used.

Please help. Please donate blood, Bowles said.

Donors must be 17 or older, or 16 with parental consent, weigh a minimum of 110 pounds and be in good health. A photo ID is also required. For information call 888-795-2707.

Below is a list of blood drives LifeSouth has scheduled for Sunday:
7:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. Spanish Fort United Methodist Church, 6530 Spanish Fort Boulevard, Spanish Fort
8 a.m. - 1 p.m. Crawford Baptist Church, 300 Sun Valley Drive, Mobile
11 a.m. - 4 p.m. Greer's, 10835 Dauphin Island Parkway, Theodore
11:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Big Lots, 8 Highway 43, Saraland
2:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Dollar General, 26250 Highway 181, Daphne

LifeSouth Facing Emergency Blood Shortage

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