Mississippi Blood Services inventory is ‘lower than it’s been in years’

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - Mississippi Blood Services says its inventory is lower than it’s been in years, and there’s an urgent need for all blood types right now.

MBS said it’s hearing from patients who have to wait to get the treatment they need because of the low blood supply.

Typically, blood banks have lots of A positive and AB blood types on the shelves, but right now, MBS said it’s struggling to get people who have Type A blood to donate.

“And the scary thing is it could be a sickle cell patient or a cancer patient that’s told they have to wait, and they may have to spend the Christmas holiday in the hospital because they’ve been unable to get treatment to be able to go home,” Merle Eldridge said, Director of Donor Recruitment and Mobile Collections. “So that’s why it’s so important for people to roll up your sleeves now more than ever.”

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