Who can donate? You must be in good health, at least 17 years old and weigh at least 110 pounds to donate. People are asked not to give blood if: They are men who have had sex with men at least once since 1977. They have used a needle to take illegal drugs. They have a blood-clotting disease, such as hemophilia. They have been paid with money or drugs in exchange for sex since 1977. They have tested positive for HIV. They have traveled to Cameroon, Nigeria, Niger, Chad, the Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, or were born in any of these countries. They have had sex with anyone who meets any of the above conditions. Call the American Red Cross for more information at (800) GIVE-LIFE.

In the wake of the attacks in New York and Washington, officials from President Bush to U.S. Rep. Charlie Norwood, R-Ga., tapped the outpouring of concern by asking those wanting to help to give blood. People in the Augusta area responded in a big way, said Nancy Szocinski, the director of community resources for Shepeard Community Blood Center.

About 600 people came to donate at Shepeard's three centers Tuesday, with the last donors filing out around midnight, she said. Although Wednesday was ''not as slammed,'' Shepeard's centers still saw about 500 donors, Ms. Szocinski said. The centers were in danger of running out of supplies such as blood bags and alcohol swabs, she said.

''Our facilities are overwhelmed; our supplies are overwhelmed,'' she said.

American Red Cross Blood Services of South Carolina had collected 767 units by Wednesday night and had 838 people donating or waiting to donate, including at its Augusta drawing station, said spokeswoman Kristi Mroch.

Officials at the Red Cross's Southern Region Headquarters said their offices in Georgia, northeast Florida and eastern South Carolina saw nearly three times the number of donations Tuesday as they would on a typical day.

The daily average for the area is between 900 and 1,000 donations, said Phil Carter, the director of communications for the Southern region. Initial reports show 2,738 donations Tuesday.

Long lines continued even before dawn Wednesday, with sites in Atlanta and Savannah reporting dozens of people arriving as early as 5 a.m.

Also, during the first six hours after the attack, more than 700,000 people across the nation called to schedule blood donations with the Red Cross, according to the agency.

Now people at the blood banks who are normally begging for donors are in the position of asking people to give but give later. The Red Cross is asking those wanting to donate to call (800) GIVE-LIFE to schedule an appointment, Ms. Mroch said. Donating in the next few weeks may be of more help, she said.

''If they can't get in today, it doesn't mean they can't help,'' Ms. Mroch said.

The reason is shelf life and downtime for donors. Blood banks must defer donors for 56 days, but red blood cells have a shelf life of only 42 days, which means supplies could be depleted or outdated before donors are eligible again, Ms. Szocinski said. Platelets, especially critical for burn victims, are kept only five days, she said.

''It would help us more two weeks from now or four weeks from now,'' she said.

Red Cross officials urge Americans turned away from donating to continue to make appointments for the next several weeks. Blood supplies across the South already were substantially low, and the terrorist attacks depleted them further.

Blood donated from Georgia, South Carolina and Florida probably won't go directly to New York and Washington, Mr. Carter said. Instead, the blood will be used to restock supplies that were already shipped from areas closer to the attacks, such as Virginia, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

With air travel suspended, most blood units will be moved via trucks and train.

Reach Tom Corwin at (706) 823-3213 or Brian Basinger at (404) 589-8424.