Blood Center will open Saturday due to shortage

MONTEREY , Calif. - A critical blood shortage is prompting Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula to take the unusual step of opening its Blood Center on Saturday, (February 16). The center usually is closed on weekends.

"This is a rare day, but we're in great need because of a combination of factors," says Patricia McKean of the Blood Center.

Scheduled and emergency cases at the hospital have strained supplies at a time when donations are typically lower than usual because people are traveling or have seasonal illnesses, McKean says.

The hospital has experienced shortages of nearly all types of blood in the last two months. In critical demand now are types O negative and O positive and B negative and B positive.

"Even if you have donated before, please keep donating- the need is ongoing," McKean says.

The Blood Center will be open Saturday (February 16) from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Donors may drop in or schedule at appointment by calling (831) 625-4814. The center is at the Hartnell Professional Center, 576 Hartnell Street, Suite 100, Monterey, across from the main post office.
To give blood, you must be in good health, older than age 16, and weigh more than 110 pounds. Donating takes only about one hour.
The Blood Center's regular hours are Monday and Thursday from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. There are also mobile blood drivers around the Peninsula.

Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula, founded in 1934 and located at 23625 Holman Highway in Monterey, has grown and evolved in direct response to the changing healthcare needs of the people it serves. It is a nonprofit healthcare provider with 205 staffed acute-care hospital beds and 28 skilled-nursing beds, delivering a continuum of care from birth to end of life, and every stage in between. It serves the Monterey Peninsula and surrounding communities through 15 locations, including the main hospital, outpatient facilities, satellite laboratories, a mental health clinic, a short-term skilled nursing facility, Hospice of the Central Coast, and business offices. Find more information about Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula at www.chomp.org