ORLANDO, Fla. – The Orlando-based nonprofit blood center OneBlood said Wednesday it remains operational despite experiencing a ransomware event, which is impacting its software system.
The center’s collection, testing and distribution of blood would continue amid help from cyber security specialists — as well as federal, state and local agencies — in a “comprehensive response to the situation,” according to a news release.
“OneBlood takes the security of our network extremely seriously. Our team reacted quickly to assess our systems and began an investigation to confirm the full nature and scope of the event,” Susan Forbes, OneBlood senior vice president of corporate communications and public relations, said in a statement. “Our comprehensive response efforts are ongoing and we are working diligently to restore full functionality to our systems as expeditiously as possible.”
According to Forbes, manual processes and procedures have been implemented for the time being, which take significantly longer to perform and have some impact to inventory availability.
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The release states the national blood community was rallying to help the Central Florida nonprofit, which services Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas.
“In an effort to further manage the blood supply, we have asked the more than 250 hospitals we serve to activate their critical blood shortage protocols and to remain in that status for the time being,” Forbes said in the statement. “The blood supply cannot be taken for granted. The situation we are dealing with is ongoing. If you are eligible to donate, we urge you to please make an appointment to donate as soon as possible.”
Blood centers across the country are sending blood and platelets to OneBlood, and the AABB Disaster Task Force is coordinating national resources to assist with additional blood products being sent to OneBlood. All blood types are needed, but there is an urgent need for O Positive, O Negative and Platelet donations.
OneBlood Target of Ransomware Event | July 31, 2024 (excerpt)
Further details of the ransomware event, such as those regarding the potential compromise of patient information, were not immediately available.
Learn more and locate the OneBlood donation location nearest to you by clicking here.
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