New York Strike Causes Hospital Blood Shortage

[Starbucks Anarchist]

NEW YORK (AFP) - New York's transport strike has cut supplies of blood for hospitals to critical levels and rationing has been imposed, health authorities said.

The New York Blood Center (NYBC), the central blood bank for the metropolis, said its "inventory of blood for area hospitals is at great risk and a state of emergency has been declared".

The organisation, the biggest US blood bank, made a public appeal for donors of blood and platelets to keep appointments despite chaos caused by transit workers who started a strike on Tuesday.

"A strike of even a few days will severely curtail our ability to collect an adequate blood supply for our community," said Jones.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20051221/hl_afp/ustransportstrike_051221191818

[KoKo]

1. Yeah...right...Our "Red Cross" Propaganda Machine at work once again.

I'll bet if they went on those picket lines and asked the strikers to donate they would push their arms out and say "YEAH!" ...No Problem"

Remember all the NYC BLOOD the Red Cross threw away after 9/11? Do you think the Red Cross Bush Bots aren't out there complaining because they are angry with the strike because it's "LABOR FIGHTING" for their pensions?

I've had it with the Red Cross. Elizabeth Dole headed it...remember? Repug Crap from the Bushies trying to TRASH THE STRIKERS!

[Starbucks Anarchist]

2. Hey, don't kill the messenger.

:hide:

[ret5hd]

5. you nailed it KoKo01 (nt)

[robbedvoter]

9. I was turned down 3 times from trying to donate after 911

You are right.

[Spinzonner]

12. SO they were supposed to take blood they didn't need

couldn't use, and just let it go to waste ? Bllod has a shelf life.

How many survivors were there that needed it after all the donations.

The Red Cross can be criticized for a lot of things but I question whether your apparent disappointment is one of them.

[Bozita]

10. Perfect timing for a union blood drive -- Print the signs; call the media

Get a big banner for a backdrop.

[sniffa]

3. can DUers near any donation center stop in?

or anyone reading this?

[Warpy]

4. Crock of shit

Blood banks use courier services, not the damn subway system.

Blood supplies are always critically low during the holidays. This has nothing to do with the strike.

[wickerwoman]

15. Exactly! My friend delivers blood in his Volkswagon.

He has a little permit that's gotten him out of dozens of speeding tickets.

[madrchsod]

6. bloomberg said today that

everything was pretty good on the medical side of the problems. of course it will put a dent into some collection but if there are problems they will go outside new york for supplies. wow things really change fast in new york city

[K-W]

8. Its not like you cant get into the city.

Its just slow going.

[Lisa]

7. hmm. isn't this a sign that they need to plan for emergencies?

Not to be hardhearted (I'm a blood donor myself), but they did have advance warning of this ... and surely someone has been thinking ahead about the types of situations (natural disasters or otherwise) which might interfere with the blood supply. A blizzard, hurricane, or earthquake could have a similar effect on transportation (with the added inconvenience of disrupting the power grid).

If not, Homeland Security and Co. should stop making up reasons for wiretapping peace groups, and start doing something more helpful, perhaps?

[Bridget Burke]

16. Blood banks & hospitals always have blood drives before holidays.

Because they KNOW donations will be down. And I doubt all the potential donors are bridge & tunnel folks.

[Clara T]

11. What UPS doesn't deliver anymore?

This is 100% media manipulation as owned and operated by the Corp. news and the owner class.

[wiley]

13. Agreed. Crock of Shit. NYC has needed blood and platelets

for many years at this point. But the homophobic, anti-sex, xenophobic crap policies prevent them from ever having enough. Couple that with the fact that the US government has spent almost nothing to educate people how to avoid contracting HCV (Hepatitis C) - the cost of which is billions of dollars a year to the health care system and you have yet another explosive viral problem that all but a few people even want to talk about. And my five pints of blood that the Red Cross poured down the gutter after 9/11 are all they are getting. I now go directly to an outer borough hospital and donate blood. Careful, however, don't look artistic, flamboyant or creative. They won't take THAT blood.

[nedbal]

14. The Red Cross did everything to kill their Nurse's Union

R C fired a aunt of mine some time back for organizing. The MTA should settle , was it a 23% raise Kalico got , like 189k to 232k, something like that