Mississippi Blood Services Inventory at Emergency Crisis Level

By Talbert Toole
Lifestyles Editor
talbert.toole@hottytoddy.com

Photo via Twitter.

The Mississippi Blood Services (MBS), a not-for-profit blood service founded in 1979, is currently at an emergency inventory level for blood that has now escalated to a ‘crisis,’ according to a tweet that was posted on Friday.

Some of the reasons the inventory has been depleted rapidly are due to the holiday season, extreme weather and it being in the middle of flu season, said Susan Ates, public relations specialist for MBS.

“Our donor base has been diminished drastically,” Ates said.

Ates said the low inventory is across the nation which has made it that much more difficult to receive donations in Mississippi.

The community does not realize the importance of having an adequate blood supply until it is needed, Ates said.

“When our shelves are empty and hospitals have accidents their shelves become empty,” she said. “Then all of sudden there is this critical need [for blood].”

Low blood inventories in both blood services and hospitals have caused hospitals to postpone routine surgeries, Ates said.

One of the major hospitals that the service provides blood to began canceling surgeries due to the lack of blood supply, the tweet stated.

MBS is currently in need of all blood types for their inventory stock; however, Ates said O negative is the universal type due to the fact everyone can receive it. She said those who are type A should consider donating platelets over blood because those platelets cannot only go to patients with type A but type O recipients as well.

Those who are wishing to donate blood or platelets can donate to the Mississippi Blood Services Oxford branch located at 2627A W Oxford Loop.

For more information on the Mississippi Blood Services, visit their website.