Ford Engineers Rebuild Blood Bank
14 January 1999
Ford Engineers Rebuild Blood BankDEARBORN, Mich., Jan. 13 -- Automotive safety isn't the only public health concern among Ford Motor Company engineers, who lined up here this morning to help re-stock the storm-battered Southeastern Michigan blood bank. Some 200 Ford employees at Ford's Product Development Center are scheduled to donate blood today and tomorrow to the American Red Cross Southeastern Michigan Blood Services Region, which is still recovering from the early- January blizzard in which certain blood supplies dropped to critical levels. "We're still in a recovery mode, with the level of our normal blood donations down by about a third due to ongoing weather problems," said Mary Anne Stella, chief operating officer of the Red Cross local chapter. Projected blood donations from the two-day Ford PDC drive will account for approximately five percent the local Red Cross normal weekly collections of 3,600 units of blood. Another 1,200 units are imported, mostly from the Minneapolis-St. Paul area to meet the weekly distribution volume of 4,800 units to hospitals across Southeastern Michigan. But daily local donations hit an all-time low of 19 units on January 3, the day of the blizzard, noted Stella, and supplies dwindled dangerously low last week under Jack Frost's double-whammy. Weather-related airport delays slowed the usual import flow from Minnesota, while snow-clogged streets and driving difficulties kept local donors away from the Red Cross centers. Local donations climbed back to 450 pints this past Monday, said the Red Cross, but that's still some 30 percent below normal, as Michiganders braced for another round of snowfall. This week's PDC drive is part of the continuing Red Cross support by Ford employees, who donated 7,400 units of blood last year to patients served by the Southeast Michigan chapter. Anyone can participate to donate blood by calling 800-GIVE-LIFE.