Local residents need to take a serious look at donating bloodMonday to help offset a major shortage of blood supplies across thestate, according to medical officials.

The most commonly used type of blood is almost completelydeleted, causing medical personnel to become alarmed.

“The horrifying news is that Mississippi Blood Services’O-negative supply is totally wiped out,” said Dani Edmonson,spokesperson for the major blood supplier in the area.

Donors of all types, especially O-negative, are urged to giveblood as soon as possible. An MBS blood mobile will be set up atKing’s Daughters Medical Center from 1-6 p.m. Monday so localresidents can make life-saving blood donations.

“Our supply is real slim right now, so we hope a lot of peoplewill donate,” said Teri Ellison, who works in the laboratory atKDMC.

Although all blood types are necessary for daily medicalactivities, the most important to medical personnel is theuniversal blood type, O-negative, which can be accepted by peoplewith every blood type.

“A lot of times when there’s a trauma in the emergency room, wegive the patients O-negative until we can test them for the righttype,” said Ellison.

While it is the most needed blood type, O-negative is the typethat has reached the critical stage in Mississippi. The only way toincrease the supply is by accepting blood donations from thepublic.

“You can’t manufacture blood, so we do rely solely on peopledonating blood,” Ellison pointed out.

Medical personnel agree about the reasons for the shortage.

The top reason is lack of donations and another reason being theamounts of blood used over the holidays for surgeries, bloodtransfusions and treating accident patients.

The reasons people do not donate range from being afraid ofneedles to not making time to donate, even though donating onlytakes 20-45 minutes. Another big reason for the lack of donationsis the fear some people have about contracting diseases, saidmedical personnel.

“A lot of people believe you can get something from donating,but you can’t,” said Ellison, mentioning how clean,individually-wrapped needles are used only once and then discarded,so each donor always gets a sterilized, brand new needle.

Medical personnel are hoping local residents will overcome theirfears and donate blood Monday. Blood donors must be healthy, atleast 17 years old, weigh at least 110 pounds and bringidentification to donate blood.