Blood shortages during summer months are not something new, but according to officials from Mississippi Blood Services, this year's crisis is worse than ever before.
Earlier this week, Mississippi Blood Services alerted hospitals that it can supply only emergency blood transfusions.
The announcement was made in response to the Food and Drug Administration prohibiting the use of blood from all Americans who have spent an extended time in Europe, France, and from military personnel who spent six months on bases in northern Europe from 1980 to 1990 or southern Europe from 1980 to 1996.
The new guidelines that went to effect last week are being implemented to protect the blood supply against mad cow disease.
According to America's Blood Centers in Washington, an international network of community blood centers that provide nearly half of the U.S. volunteer blood supply, more than 300,000 donations of blood could be lost due to the implementation of the first round of the FDA-mandated deferral policy. The FDA also said it plans to implement even more deferrals in the coming months.
The U.S. military will be greatly affected by the new policy. It could lose 25 percent of its donor base, according to America's Blood Centers.
This is an especially bad time for blood shortages in the military, with U.S. soldiers on the battle fields fighting a war on terrorism.
Gov. Ronnie Musgrove made an appeal Thursday for people in Mississippi to get out and give blood. He said the problem can be solved if people roll up their sleeves and donate. We agree.
In Leflore County, people can give blood from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. every Friday at Greenwood Leflore Hospital.
We encourage people to take a few minutes during one of these Friday afternoon drives and give blood. It could mean the difference of life or death for a friend, a neighbor or a loved one.
