Three blood drives in the Waycross area have been cancelled because of the fires.
An appeal was issued Friday morning for donors in Gainesville, Winder, Athens and other parts of northeast Georgia.
"We carefully plan our drives to ensure we will collect enough blood for hospitals and their patients every day. Whenever we must cancel a blood drive, it means we could run short, especially since we rarely receive enough donations here and must often bring in blood donated in other states," explained American Red Cross Valdosta District Manager Kathy Dallas.
The cancelled blood drives represent at least 220 donations that couldn't be made this week in Waycross, Homerville and Blackshear, according to Dallas.
"It all depends on the fires and the wind," notes Dallas, "and we can't stand the risk of not having the blood on hand that local patients must have to survive."
Officials with the Northeast Georgia Chapter are donations at the donor centers in Athens (3525 Atlanta Hwy) and Gainesville (311 Jesse Jewell Pkwy), which are open Monday through Wednesday between 12 p.m. and 7 p.m. and Thursday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Officials say a donation also can be made at one of several upcoming blood drives:
*St. Mary's Hospital in Athens Friday, April 27 10:00 am - 3:00 pm
*Hall County Government in Gainesville Monday, April 30 11:00 am - 4:00 pm
*Bethlehem First Baptist Church in Bethlehem Monday, April 30 3:00 pm - 8:00 pm
*Winder Community in Winder Monday, April 30 2:00 pm - 7:00 pm
*Rock Springs UMC in Lawrenceville Monday, April 30 2:00 pm - 7:00 pm
*UGA Physical Plant in Athens Wednesday, May 2 8:00 am - 1:00 pm
*Athens Regional Medical Center Thursday, May 3 7:15 am - 5:15 pm @ the Medical Services Center, 3rd Floor
*Barrow Regional Medical Center in Winder Friday, May 4 12:30 pm -6:30 pm
*Cumming Community in Cumming Friday, May 4 11:00 am - 4:00 pm
The Southern Region must collect 1,200 units of blood each weekday to meet the needs of patients in 130 hospitals. Most healthy people age 17 or older, weighing at least 110 pounds, can give blood every 56 days.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2007/4/91071