The caller had a point to make about blood donations.
As a recent and frequent donor to Chattanooga-based Blood Assurance, he said he’d been told the center was practically out of blood. He was told trauma surgeries for the suspected perpetrators of street gun crimes had sucked up much of the banked blood. In turn, he was told, some of the local hospitals might have to delay needed or scheduled surgeries because of the lack of blood.
His sentiment was that it was a shame blood has to go to criminal types when it might be better used elsewhere.
A reader whose Rant will be published in the Times Free Press Perspective section this Sunday also may have had knowledge of the blood supply or been told a similar story. The ranter said the blood supply was partially depleted because of trauma services needed for a shoplifting suspect (and her passenger) who fled a traffic stop earlier this week. As the suspect fled, she changed lanes and caused a crash involving five additional vehicles, shutting down Interstate 75 South for three hours.
“Violent criminals, store your own blood,” the ranter wrote. “Plan ahead.”