Red Cross denies getting too much blood

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A top American Red Cross executive denied a report published Sunday that it collected hundreds of thousands of blood donations after the September 11 attacks knowing that much of the blood would outlive its shelf life before it could be used.

Senior Vice President Bill Blaul, responding to an article in Sunday's Washington Post, denied that Red Cross blood centers may have to discard 1 in 5 donations, or 20 percent. According to the newspaper, that figure was provided by several Red Cross blood centers.

Blaul called the figure "inaccurate," saying that one or more components -- red blood cells, plasma or platelets -- from every blood donation have been used.

He said the Red Cross collected 33 percent more blood than usual between September 3 and October 3, and of that amount, about 8 percent might expire before being completely used.

Between September 11 and November 9, the nonprofit organization collected 1.4 million units, or pints, of blood.

Because of the heavy donations after September 11, the nation now has a 10-day blood supply instead of a 1-3 day supply, which was "barely enough to meet the needs of hospitals on a day-to-day basis," Blaul said.

After the terrorist attack, the Red Cross urged Americans to donate blood, not knowing how much would be needed, he said. In addition, "We thought it would be a terrible thing to say 'no, we don't need your blood now. Come back later.'"

"Everybody acknowledges that the number of people who needed blood transfusions from the September 11 attacks was very small," he said.

The attacks led the Red Cross to accelerate its efforts to freeze red blood cells, Blaul said. He said the organization can freeze 100,000 units of red blood cells, enough to meet half the nation's needs for four to five days.

It has about 10,000 units of frozen blood on hand and is trying to determine the best balance of liquid and frozen blood, he said.

The Red Cross already was freezing plasma, he said, but blood platelets can't be frozen.

"We'll take the hits, but we feel it's better to have a little more than you need than not enough," he said.