The Cayman Islands Blood Bank has issued a “critical appeal” for Type O negative blood Tuesday as it asked all eligible individuals to donate immediately.
The appeal comes as the Blood Bank advised that supply chain delays from the US due to Hurricane Ian have slowed the delivery of blood.
In a statement announcing what it called a “critical appeal”, the Blood Bank said, “Cayman needs to increase our local blood donations to ensure we have adequate supply for patients when they need it”.
Even though it has been six days since Ian struck Florida, officials are still assessing the damage left in the wake of the major hurricane, Reuters news agency reported.
As of Monday morning, Reuters said at least 85 deaths had been attributed to the storm, including 81 in Florida, “which took the brunt of Ian’s power when the storm slammed into the state’s Gulf Coast last Wednesday as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 150 miles per hour”.
The report said that insurers are anticipating between $42 billion and $57 billion in losses.
The Blood Bank, in its statement, said healthy volunteers are encouraged to donate blood throughout the year “to maintain a stable blood supply for the sake of patients’ dependent on blood transfusions due to surgery or blood diseases”.
Men can donate every three months and women every four months, it added.
Donations can be made Monday–Friday from 7am to 6:30pm, and Saturdays from 9am to 5:30pm at the Cayman Islands Hospital.
Walk-ins are also accepted; however, people who have not donated before at the Blood Bank need to take a brief eligibility test on its website before scheduling an appointment.
For more information and to book an appointment, visit www.bloodbank.ky or call 244-2674.
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The ‘brief eligibility test’ excludes anyone who has lived in the UK, because of a fake news story from 30 years ago. Drop that stupid, pointless rule and you’ll see a dramatic upturn in donations.