Call for blood donations as hospitalizations expected to spike over Memorial Day weekend

Blood donation centers locally and statewide are urging people to take time during the holiday weekend to give blood.

An urgent need for universal type O blood donations comes on a Memorial Day weekend when historically there are an average of 43,000 people nationwide injured in crashes, many of whom depending on blood donations to stay alive, said Kevin Adler, a spokesman for Vitalant, a blood service provider that partners with hospitals in Northern California.

Vitalant, previously called Blood Centers of the Pacific, supplies nearly 1,000 hospitals across 40 states.

“The San Francisco Bay Area blood supply is below ideal levels approaching Memorial Day Weekend,” Adler said.

About 10% of people across the North Bay who are able to donate blood actually do on a consistent basis, which is not enough to keep a full supply, said Kent Corley, a local Vitalant spokesman.

“The blood supply is maybe like a pipeline that you always need to have filled and there is never any real time you can take off from focusing on that,” Corley said.

As summer approaches there are even fewer donors, he said, since donation centers collect nearly 20% of their supply from local schools, which are closed during the summer months when there is typically the greatest need.

Donation centers will be open in the North Bay this weekend, including in Napa and Santa Rosa, where donors can walk in or schedule an appointment. The goal is that the six regional centers will collect blood from more than 2,000 people through the holiday weekend.

The Napa Center at 3230 Beard Road is open Saturday from ?8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The donation center in Santa Rosa, at 3505 Industrial Drive, is open Saturday, Sunday and Monday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

You can reach Staff Writer Alexandria Bordas at 707-521-5337.