By Ileana Morales, Times Staff Writer
Monday, January 24, 2011
Local hospitals need blood donors as soon as possible after the shootings of two St. Petersburg police officers and a U.S. marshal drained already low reserves.
Florida Blood Services seeks blood donors for type O negative. On Monday, Bayfront Medical Center ordered 18 additional units of type O negative blood to treat the officers, despite reserves already being low at the main distribution center.
The two St. Petersburg officers died of their wounds. The U.S. marshal is in stable condition.
"This is tragic, and it's hard for all of us," said JB Gaskins, vice president of donor systems for Florida Blood Services. "But it's our job to make sure, as the conduit between donor and patient, that we keep the community informed of what the needs are."
Local hospitals need donors urgently to keep inventories at ...