Alaska's only blood bank is critically short of O and AB blood; six centers are taking donors

Alaska's only blood bank says it is critically short of four blood types and needs about 700 donors a week to keep up.

The shortage covers O positive, O negative, AB positive and AB negative. O negative is the type emergency rooms reach for when there is no time to find out a patient's blood type, because anyone can receive it.

Blood Bank of Alaska supplies 21 hospitals across the state, including military and Alaska Native facilities. It says one in seven hospital patients needs blood at some point, and the supply cannot be stockpiled ahead: platelets, the cells that make blood clot, expire five days after donation, so they have to be replaced constantly.

Roughly two percent of Alaskans donate in a given year, according to a state proclamation marking this week as Alaska Blood Donation Week, though most people are eligible.

The blood bank runs six donation centers in Anchorage, Soldotna, Wasilla, Fairbanks and Juneau. Appointments for the two Anchorage centers and the Kenai Peninsula center can be made at 907-222-5630, and each of the other centers books separately. Donors are asked to bring photo identification, and anyone planning to walk in without an appointment should call ahead to check hours.