Bermuda’s blood stocks are so low King Edward VII Memorial Hospital would struggle to cope with a major road accident, doctors warned last night.

Numbers of donors on the Island have plummeted by 50 percent in the past decade after a ruling was introduced preventing thousands of expats from donating. Medics last night made an urgent call for Bermudians to come forward to give blood to help make up for the shortfall.

They say the amount currently stored would be enough to treat just one accident victim — meaning if any other injured people needed blood an emergency back-up plan would have to be implemented.

This would involve calling on KEMH staff, Police officers, fire-fighters or Bermuda Regiment to step in as donors — a move which has been necessary twice in the past 18 months.

The expat ruling was introduced by the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB), which incorporates Bermuda, around ten years ago amid fears over Creutzfeldt-Jacob Disease (CJD), the human form of BSE. It states anyone who has spent more than six months in the UK or Europe in the period 1980 to 1996 cannot give blood.

Since the ruling was implemented, numbers of donors on the Island have dropped from 3,000 to 2,000.

Dr. Betsie Lombard, of the hospital’s blood transfusion service, said: “It’s a very serious shortage. We have had quite a few cases recently which have used a lot of blood. We now have enough blood if nothing else happens, but if there is a serious accident we will be in trouble.

“If one person needs blood we would be all right, but for more than one we would have to organise an emergency clinic. In the past, hospital staff have been amazing at helping out. But we don’t want to have to go down the route — it would be much better to have a good donor pool.

“The ruling is unfortunate but when it was brought in there had been a lot of pressure from the public. They were afraid of possible spreading of BSE.

“I don’t want people to panic because we have always dealt with this situation in the past, but we want to make sure we have got enough donors to fill our stocks for May.”

Dr. Lombard said Bermuda’s need for donors is particularly serious as the Island has to be self-sufficient.

It is hoped new technology — which would enable doctors to filter the particles that cause BSE out of blood samples — will make it possible for expats to donate blood within the next two years.

People who want to give blood visit the Red Cross Donor Centre, where they are asked a series of questions to determine their suitability to donate.

A donor has his or her blood pressure measured and is then put on a bed where one pint of blood is taken.

“We are appealing especially to people who haven’t donated before, or who may be a lapsed donor,” said Dr. Lombard.

“Our current donors are true heroes who come regularly to donate, but unless we grow our donor base we are going to struggle to meet Bermuda’s needs over the long-term.

“We are sure there are people who wish to give back to the community and might not have thought of donating blood before.

“It is a gift that costs you no money and only takes about 30 minutes. You could be saving the life of someone you know or love.”

Anyone interested in donating blood should telephone Sue de Vertieul or Celia O’Connel at the Red Cross Donor Centre on 236-5067.