KANSAS COMPUTERS STOLEN FROM BLOOD BANKWichita Eagle | 12/29/2004 | Local Red Cross office burgledPosted on Wed, Dec. 29, 2004

Local Red Cross office burgled

BY TIM POTTER

The Wichita Eagle


Whoever broke into the American Red Cross offices in downtown Wichita earlier this week stole four laptop computers with personal blood-donor information, an official said.

Fortunately, the donor information isn't accessible to thieves because it's encrypted to block unauthorized access, said Diane Elder, chief operating officer for the American Red Cross' Central Plains Blood Region. Besides the coding, passwords prevent access, offering multiple layers of protection, Elder said.

"There is no danger of any information getting out," she said.

Because of the password protection, the laptops wouldn't be usable, said Lt. Barry Von Fange, who supervises the Wichita Police Department's burglary detectives.

Elder didn't know how many blood donors might have been listed in the stolen computers.

The replacement cost for the four portable computers, which are used during blood drives, is about $10,000, Elder said. The loss is insured.

According to police, the burglary occurred between 5 p.m. Sunday and 6 a.m. Monday at the Red Cross blood services offices at 731 N. Water. That building is across the street from the primary Red Cross offices on North Main.

Whoever took the computers broke in through a rear window, police said.

Because of the break-in, security will be extended, she said.

Although the laptop theft slowed some blood-drive work Monday, it won't affect any future blood-collection efforts, she said.

Any burglary is bad. But it's especially troubling that someone stole from a charity, Elder said.

"We're just trying to help people -- sick people," she said