Update: Continued need for type-O donors at Stanford Blood Center

• ' When plane-crash victims arrived at Stanford Medicine, response teams were ready

Thanks to the generosity of local blood donors, the Stanford Blood Center has been able to provide additional blood products to Stanford Hospital for the survivors of the July 6 plane crash at San Francisco International Airport.

Although no additional blood is needed for the crash victims, the center continues to have an urgent need for types O-positive and O-negative blood and for platelets to help many other patients at local hospitals. The center is asking community members to donate blood to meet these needs in the wake of the July 4th holiday weekend and the unexpected increase in blood usage.

Donors should be in good health with no cold or flu symptoms. They must eat well prior to donation, drink fluids and present photo identification at the time of donation. The process takes about an hour. For more information or to schedule an appointment, please call (888) 723-7831 or visit bloodcenter.stanford.edu.

Stanford Blood Center was created at the Stanford University School of Medicine in 1978 to meet the complex transfusion needs of Stanford Hospital & Clinics and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, as well as provide tailored blood products and clinical trial services for school researchers. Today the center provides blood products to seven local hospitals and is a recognized leader in the field of transfusion medicine. More information is available at http://bloodcenter.stanford.edu.