DOWNSTATE - The terrorist attacks in New York and Washington have left hospitals needing blood to treat the unknown number of injured people.

At the Blood Bank of Delaware Eastern Shore on Saulsbury Road in Dover, citizens lined up to give blood in the wake of Tuesday morning's catastrophe.

But that location was closed because of a previously scheduled mobile blood drive in Milford, said David Bonk, director of marketing for the Blood Bank.

The closing upset Mariam Moore, a Dover resident who responded to the calls for donations.

Within an hour, more than 50 arrived and left the site without giving blood, she said.

"They want to help and they can't and they're leaving," Mrs. Moore said of donors.

The Blood Bank should have a backup system or some strategy to use in such emergencies, she said.

"We're not ready and we should be," Mrs. Moore said of Delaware's blood drive work. "We're not ready at all."

"We should have a thousand trained staff ready to go at any minute, but we don't." Mr. Bonk said. "We're really maxed out at every one of our donor sites."

The slumping economy has prevented the Blood Bank, a nonprofit group funded by insurance companies, from hiring more workers, he said.

The Blood Bank called in off-duty staff who shifts of 12 to 15 hours or more, Mr. Bonk said.

The Dover site opened in the afternoon, drawing about 70 donors around 4:30 p.m.

"It was the only constructive thing I could think to do," said donor Eddie Cohee of Milford.

Caesar Rodney School District teachers showed up after schools closed.

Donor Giani Siri of Smyrna - originally from Brooklyn, N.Y. - knows lower Manhattan well and has friends and family in the area.

"My brother was riding his bike to work on the Brooklyn Bridge when he saw the first plane hit," Ms. Siri said. "He works just a few blocks from there and was running late. I can't imagine what would have happened if he had been on time."

About 300 donors lined up at Christiana Center in Newark, Mr. Bonk said.

"We've had a tremendous outpouring of people wanting to help in some way," Mr. Bonk said. "That's the positive news during a tragedy - people want to help."

Phone calls inundated the Nanticoke Memorial Hospital in Seaford, said hospital president Edward Hancock.

"People are calling to figure out how to give blood," Mr. Hancock said. "A lot of people in the community are trying to help out in any way possible.

People can volunteer or donate through the American Red Cross or the Blood Bank, said Marguerite Prueitt, CEO of the American Red Cross of the Delmarva Peninsula, by calling the Blood Bank at 888-8BLOOD8 or 302-737-8400. Those numbers may have delays due to many callers.

The Red Cross is also taking names of family members who have not been heard from since the attacks. Ms. Prueitt asked that only direct family members use the service at 800-777-6620.

The military may help transport donated blood to New York-area hospitals, Mr. Bonk said.

Local hospitals require 250 pints of blood daily, he said.

Mr. Bonk encouraged donors to continue donating later in the week and next week to help victims and to replenish local supply.

To donate

Blood Bank centers and their hours of operation Downstate:

• 221 Saulsbury Road, Dover, today and Thursday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
• Georgetown Presbyterian Church, Thursday, 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
• Seaford Elks Lodge, Monday and Tuesday, 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
• Millsboro Civic Center, Friday, Sept. 21, 8:30 a.m. until mid-afternoon.