Incentives, promotional campaigns, education partnerships, and other marketing initiatives are underway to boost the community's blood supply in Central Florida.

 

"Simply put, the need for blood is outpacing the supply," said Pat Michaels, executive director of public relations for Florida's Blood Centers (FBC).

 

Established in 1942, the not-for-profit healthcare organization collected and processed 362,727 units of blood components in 2008. Its staff of 1,000 serviced more than 70 hospitals and medical facilities in the 21-county area from FBC's 44 blood centers and 45 mobile units. The prolific volume has maintained FBC as the nation's fourth largest blood bank and the largest one in the southeast.

 

"Even with that volume, the demand has outpaced donations for the first quarter of 2009," said Michaels. "We ended January 7 percent down, then February 9 percent down, and March's numbers … gave us a bit of a start."

 

Mike Pratt, executive vice president and COO of FBC, said there was a 19 percent gap between supply and demand during March alone.

 

"This alarming trend of supply not keeping up with demand cannot continue without severe consequences to the health and welfare of our community," he cautioned.

 

Not only does FBC maintain a blood supply for Central and South Florida residents, but also for "snowbirds" who reside in the area several months of the year to avoid cold winters, and the year-round flock of tourists and convention attendees.

 

"We always need O blood, which represents 45 percent of the population," said Michaels, pointing out that O negative represents 7 percent of the population, while O positive accounts for 38 percent. AB is the rarest blood type, reflecting a scant 1 percent of the population.

 

Participation in corporate blood drives, where many units of blood are collected, have declined because businesses have laid off employee-donors or closed altogether. In some cases, up to 50 percent of workplace donors have been laid off.

 

"As the jobs have dried up, so has our blood supply," said Pratt.

 

A $10 Publix gift card, $10 restaurant gift certificate, T-shirts and other goodies are among the incentives FBC offers blood donors.

 

"Because we cannot by law pay for blood donations, we do offer things that will hopefully lure donors," said Michaels.

 

Michaels pointed out that for those who are unemployed and may not have health insurance, donating blood with FBC comes with a free health screening. The benefits of donating blood with FBC include a free mini-physical with each donation- pulse rate, blood pressure, temperature and a non-fasting diabetes screening. Donors also receive a cholesterol reading and their blood will be tested for a host of diseases from HIV to hepatitis.

 

Last month, FBC held an unprecedented press conference with medical leaders from Florida Hospital and Orlando Health, two of Central Florida's largest hospitals, and other advocates to explain how the struggling economy is hindering blood donations and putting the community's health and welfare in jeopardy. FBC officials also unveiled a "community blood meter" on their new Web site, www.floridasbloodcenters.org, which tracks the hourly available supply of blood.

 

"A typical surgery uses four units of blood, two units of plasma and two units of platelets," said Michael Angelis, MD, surgical transplant leader at Florida Hospital in Orlando. "An organ recipient recently needed 54 units of blood. The need is greater than ever."

 

Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies in Orlando handles about 14,000 deliveries a year and many high-risk pregnancies, said Aman S. Bhullar, MD, a specialist in obstetrics and gynecology. "We need the blood readily available when an emergency arises," he emphasized.

 

Don E. Eslin, MD, who specializes in pediatric hematology/oncology at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Orlando, said without transfusions, most patients would not survive their treatments. At the press conference, he introduced one of his patients, 9-year-old Talia Castellano, who is undergoing chemotherapy treatment for cancer.

 

"After a donation, I'm a new person," Talia told the crowd.

 

Michaels said the press conference resulted from the need to educate the public about the importance of an adequate community blood supply.

 

"After a while, you have to share the back end of the story, to explain to people why they're donating," he said. "Many people don't realize that blood donations not only impact surgery patients, but also trauma and cancer patients. Cancer patients desperately need platelets to strengthen their body. One donation can save multiple lives, because it's separated into components, including red blood cells, plasma and platelets."

 

FBC has had remarkable success at high school blood drives, even though donors must be at least 16 years of age and should weigh at least 102 pounds. In February, Timber Creek High School in Orlando broke its own donation record when nearly 400 students and faculty signed up to donate blood. The milestone contribution had a positive impact on 900 patients, many of whom received donations within 48 hours. Timber Creek, which opened in 2001, is the largest school in Orange County with 4,400 students, and the second largest high school in Florida.

 

Ironically, blood drives at area hospitals aren't always so successful.

 

"We understand that healthcare workers, who know all too well about the importance of maintaining the community's blood supply, often are just too busy to stop and donate blood," said Michaels. "We hope that will improve. We need milestone contributions every single day."