Red Cross seeks blood donations for holiday

With the Labor Day weekend her, Southern California Red Cross officials’ faces are growing pale as blood donations from Newport-Mesa and surrounding cities are falling drastically short of what is needed.

“We’re in a worse situation today [than Monday],” said Cliff Numark, director of recruitment for the Southern California Red Cross. “Going into Labor Day weekend — not good.”

On Monday, the American Red Cross of Southern California issued a Red Alert, a desperate call for help to the public and city organizations to help replenish dwindling blood supplies as the holiday weekend approached. With blood donations having a somewhat brief shelf-life and most people heading out of town for the long weekend, Red Cross officials are worried they won’t have enough to stock through the week.

Newport-Mesa did its best to answer the call this week, handing over 177 units of blood in three days of donation. The Mesa Verde United Methodist Church in Costa Mesa collected 31 pints Monday, the Pacific Life & Annuity Company in Newport Beach collected 53 Tuesday and a hastily put-together blood drive by the Newport Beach lifeguards netted 93 pints of blood, a dependable well of help for the Red Cross, officials said.

“Yes, we’ve had people who have heard that there was a big need,” said Teresa Solorio, a Red Cross spokeswoman. “But it hasn’t been enough to take us out of the woods yet.”

The Red Cross is using rare, frozen blood to meet patients’ needs, Solorio said.

To give blood, you must be at least 17, weigh 110 pounds and be in good health. To donate, call (800) GIVE-LIFE or go to www.givelife.org to make an appointment.

— Joseph Serna