(HealthDay) -- Blood supply shortages often appear in the news, and there is always a sense of urgency in the appeals for donors.
Now, using the theory that a pint of prevention is worth a quart of cure, the U.S. government is going to track the nation's supply, resulting in more advance warning of a shortage, according to this story in the Seattle Times.
Blood supply shortages are expected to get worse next month when new rules aimed at preventing the spread of mad cow disease go into effect. This story from The Age reports on how mad cow disease has affected blood donations in Britain.
The new tracking system will use 29 hospitals around the country that will report their blood supplies daily. That information, the story says, will be posted on a public Internet site, giving an accurate look at blood supply by region.
If you want to give blood, the Red Cross can help you find out how.
