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FORT WORTH — Residents turned out strong to give blood Friday for victims of the Fort Hood shootings, so much so that Carter BloodCare is asking donors to now hold off until the holidays.
"The need has been met," said Bobby Grigsby, the center’s chief operating officer.People who gave blood Friday won’t be able to donate again until Jan. 2 "We don’t want to face shortages during the holidays," Grigsby said.But he expressed frustration that the American Red Cross was still taking donations in Farmers Branch even though Carter BloodCare is the primary supplier to Killeen-area hospitals. "I don’t think it’s a good use of a valuable resource," Grigsby said. "It’s not a good situation."On Thursday, Carter BloodCare sent blood to Darnall Army Medical Center at Fort Hood, Scott & White Healthcare, and the VA hospital in Temple.The American Red Cross also sent blood, according to Cameron Ballantyne, a Red Cross spokesman in Dallas. Friday’s blood drive was being used to replenish the local supply and make up for a shipment sent from its processing center in Tulsa. All the blood collected from Friday’s drive will be sent to Oklahoma first."It’s going to go up to Tulsa to be processed," Ballantyne said. "It will be determined where the blood is shipped from there."The Red Cross is a supplemental supplier to Scott & White and King’s Daughters hospitals in Temple, as well as Metroplex Adventist Hospital in Killeen."We have weekly shipments sent down to that area and have since November," Ballantyne said.By noon Friday, Grigsby said, 400 donors at Carter BloodCare had given blood across Tarrant County. Normally, it would take a whole day for the network to see that many.Steve Jordan of Burleson was one of those. Jordan, 44, dropped by the donation center on Forest Park Boulevard about 10 a.m. Friday."I saw they needed blood on the news last night and decided I was coming in," said Jordan, who gives about three or four times a year.The Blood Center of Central Texas in Austin also sent supplies to the Killeen-Fort Hood area and was urging donors to wait."Because of the donor response to this tragic event, the blood supply continues to be adequate at this time," the blood center’s Web site said. "Rather than give a donation today, we encourage you to make an appointment now to donate during the Thanksgiving or the Christmas holidays and continue to donate once a quarter."BILL HANNA, 817-390-7698
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