"Blood shortage" is a term heard frequently on campus and throughout the State College community.

However, the effects may not seem important or relevant to the public because of the constant reminders of the low supply of blood.

Wendi Keeler, field representative with the Greater Alleghenies Region of the American Red Cross, said the decrease in blood donors is evident, but the challenge to get people to donate is ongoing.

"The normal population for people who are eligible to donate is about 50 percent. But only 5 percent of that 50 donate on a regular basis," Keeler said.

A bystander effect comes into play because people tend to place the obligation of donating blood onto others, which inevitably results in a small percentage of donors, Keeler said.

"People think others will do it, so they don't need to. But if we could just get that 5 percent to 10 percent, we wouldn't be in this type of shortage," she said.

The question of whether the shortage has some effect on the community is an important issue that the Red Cross is taking into account.

Claudia Horner, an assistant with the Greater Alleghenies Region of the American Red Cross, said officials try to focus on smaller communities for a successful drive.

"We thought we could collect better in the community because the response is much better in smaller settings versus the bigger metropolitan areas outside this region," Horner said.

Horner also said that although there is always a shortage in the country, the severity does change, and that should be considered as well.

"It's been more severe in the last year than in the past. In fact, the Greater Alleghenies Region, which covers six states, used to be able to export blood to other regions. Now, we're just as stretched as other places in the country," she said.

With the continuous cry for blood donations around the country, Horner said she hopes the issue is not lost.

"It may affect the appeal, so we try to make people donate in more creative ways," she said. "We don't know what else to do to get the message across."

With the inventory of blood at only about a day's supply for all blood types for at least the past year, the critical patients in area hospitals "luckily" are not feeling the wrath, Horner added.

"We do hear they are putting off some elective surgeries, but people are not dying," she said. "It hasn't affected [the patients], but it can. Right now we have about 15 units of AB blood, and a trauma patient can go through over 15 units in one day, and that's what we should look at."

Gloria Martz, Mount Nittany Medical Center laboratory administrative director, said even though the hospital's inventory is not full, nothing tragic has occurred.

"If someone comes in and uses our resources, it will affect somebody down the line, but we haven't had to cancel any surgeries and no one has died because of the shortage," Martz said.