Page 6-Friday, June 13, 1980-The Michigan Daily
ATTRIBUTED TO AUTO LAYOFFS
Detroit blood supply down
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By SUSAN KLING
The depressed auto market and
resulting auto worker layoffs are
causing some unexpected problems in
Michigan hospitals - blood supplies in
southeastern areas of the state are
down.
Because auto workers from the big
three car companies donate almost 25
per cent of the area's blood supplies at
mobile units near the factories, blood
supplies have plummeted as layoffs
have increased.
THE RED CROSS Blood Center in
Detroit reports that May blood
donations were off by 14 per cent. In
Washtenaw County, collections are_
regularly falling 40 per cent below the
180 pints needed daily to supply area
hospitals, according to Neal Fry, blood
coordinator for Washtenaw County.
And, although no one who needs blood
is going without it, Red Cross officials
explain the Detroit-Ann Arbor area
cannot continue to import needed blood
from other regins.
Dr. William Shaffer, director of the
Detroit Red Cross Blood Center, ex-
plained: "Other metropolitan areas
will be affected more by the recession.
Those other metropolitan areas will
have problems such as ours."
THE CENTER is the sole supplier of
blood for the 75 hospitals in
southeastern Michigan, collecting
blood throughout the region and then
distributing it.
Three-quarters of the center's blood
supplies come from the mobile units
that travel to schools, factories, and
churches. "As the big plants are closed,
we have fewer places to go," Shaffer
said.
"If you have 137,000 (auto workers)
laid off out of approximately 450,000
(nationwide), it's got to affect blood
donorship," said Bruce MacDonald, a
spokesman for General Motors.'
MACDONALD SAID all GM plants in
Michigan participate in blood collection
drives. One factor that encourages
workers to give blood, ,he said, is a
program in which their families are
guaranteed free blood should they need
it.
The Washtenaw County Red Cross
has been trying to find new donors, Fry
said, but so far not enough people have
signed up to compensate for the loss of
the auto workers.
Said Fry: "We never dreamed 60 per
cent of our Ford population would be
out of work."
SHAFFER SAID the current blood
drive at GM's Hydromatics plant in
Ypsilanti is in trouble. "We are
struggling now with Hydromatics. They
have always been very successful in the
past. We drew, in two shifts (recently),
only 50 per cent of our projected
figures. If it continues, we will be in
serious problems next week."
Spokespersons for hospitals in the
Ann ArborYpsilanti area say they have
not noticed any difficulties in obtaining
Use Daily.
Class if ieds'
blood so far. Dr. Harold Oberon, direc-
tor of the blood bank at University
Hospital, said, "At the moment, we
have not experienced a problem."
David Evirett, blood bank supervisor
at St. Joseph's Hospital in Ypsilanti,
also said he has not noticed any
problems. He added, however, "We
have noticed a lot (of the blood) we
have been getting has come from all
over."
SHARING SYSTEMS that operate
between all hospitals in the area have
helped to meet hospital needs, as
smaller hospitals give their older blood
to large ones while it is still fresh.
However, -Fry emphasized that
donorship is also important.
A blood drive is scheduled today at
the Red Cross Center, 2729 Packard
Road, from 1-7 p.m., Fry said.
University students and faculty
"have been a tremendous sup-
port ... when we are in a pinch we call
Central Campus," Fry said. He added
that he hopes University support will be
effective enough to help meet the blood
needs of Washtenaw County.
Suspected
cancer
agent cut
in import,
export ale
From UPI and AP
WASHINGTON - The level of a
suspected cancer-causing agent has
been cut heavily in almost all domestic
and imported beers within the past few
months, the Food and Drug Ad-
ministration reported yesterday.
The agency said its four-month
nationwide testing of domestic and im-
ported beers found only three brands in
violation of its limit of five parts of
nitrosamines, a suspected cancer-
causing agent, per billion. They were
India Beer, made by Cerveceria India
of Mayaguez, Puerto Rico; San Miguel
Dark Beer by the San Miguel Corp. of
Manila, the Philippines; and Samuel
Smith's Old Brewery Pale Ale, made by
Tadcaster Ltd. of York, England.
THE FDA said the nitrosamine levels
for Cerveceria beer were as high as
nine parts per billion in the tests. For
San Miguel Dark they ranged from five
to eight parts, and for Old Brewery
Pale Ale they were measured at 13.
FDA said its latest tests showed other
beers now average 1 ppb or less, with
domestic brands slightly better than
imports, and with no detectable level in
many.
A part per billion is the equivalent of
one ounce in 10,000 tank cars of beer.
Scientists found nitrosamines were
formed during the drying of green
barley to make malt for beer and other
malt beverages. They are also formed
in other foods.
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