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Blood Center Copes with Severe Shortage of Platelet Supply

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AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) - Officials at an Augusta-based blood center say the supply of a vital blood product that's used by cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy has dwindled severely.

The Shepeard Community Blood Center says disruptions from Tropical Storm Hermine and the Labor Day holiday weekend contributed to the shortage of platelets.

Pamela Rascon, Shepeard's director of community resources, said the situation in recent days has been "very, very serious."

Rascon tells The Augusta Chronicle (http://bit.ly/2cjrDSv) there was a high demand for the blood products in early September, and some people didn't show up for appointments to donate. She said other blood centers in the region were also short on platelets.

Shepeard has three locations for people to donate platelets: Augusta and Evans in Georgia and one in Aiken, South Carolina.

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Information from: The Augusta Chronicle , http://www.augustachronicle.com

(Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

9/11/2016 9:25:00 AM (GMT -4:00)