SPANISH FORT, Ala.—Last-minute summer vacations coupled with the staggered return of students to area colleges and high schools have impeded blood collection by area agencies and prompted a public plea for increased donations as the Labor Day holiday approaches.

“Most summers we’re able to skid through without an appeal—and this is our first since the summer of 2007—but our supplies are really at a critical level,” said Evan Duffy, communications manager with the American Red Cross’s Alabama and Central Gulf Coast Biomedical Services in Mobile.

The urgent need at the moment is for types O, A and B negative, while a critical need remains in effect for everything else except O positive.

“We’re always watching closely toward the end of summer because our inventories are usually down about 20 percent with high school and college students out of school. They typically produce 21 percent of our total supply,” Duffy said.

The double-edged sword, he said, comes when vacations cause regular donors to bypass their local drives while also increasing the number of outdoor injuries and driving up demand.

Jennifer Stewart, Mobile Team Captain with LifeSouth Community Blood Center in Daphne, said donations are lagging more than usual for late summer, but she is encouraged by the number of high school blood drives scheduled into the fall.

“We have one in the works with Spanish Fort High School, but we haven’t nailed down a date yet,” said Stewart, noting a drive this week at the Eastern Shore Centre had attracted only two donors three hours into a five-hour drive.

Considering the region requires about 600 units per day, Duffy said waiting on large-scale drives like one slated later in the fall for Auburn University can be difficult.

He did note that the recent Bebo’s Blood Drive in Daphne, Foley and Mobile netted 753 units.

“As soon as schools get back in session we’ll see an uptick, but that’s not helping much at the moment,” Duffy said.

Mark Beddingfield, CEO of the Alabama and Central Gulf Coast Region of the American Red Cross, said collecting enough blood to meet hospitals’ needs during the summer months is always a challenge, but external factors are playing an unprecedented role at present.

 “This is especially true this year as many donors are also dealing with business closings, lay-offs and other issues relating to our current economy. Unfortunately, the need for blood doesn’t go away,” Beddingfield said, adding,“Patients are dependent on the Red Cross and volunteer blood donors to make sure blood is available to patients in need. Without an immediate response from generous people in the community, our ability to provide the needed blood will be limited.”

Eligible blood donors must be at least 17 years of age—16 with on-site parental consent—weigh at least 110 pounds and be in general good health.