With the potential for a tropical system to impact Florida and Georgia in the next couple days, OneBlood, the local blood center, is urging people to donate blood as soon as possible, before the storm arrives.
While all blood types are needed, there is an urgent need for platelets as well as O Negative and O Positive blood types.
Hurricanes and tropical storms can disrupt blood collections, sometimes for several days. The most critical time for blood donations is prior to any storm or hurricane in order to sustain the blood supply during and immediately after the event.
OneBlood encourages all eligible donors to visit a donor center or Big Red Bus to ensure blood is available for patients in need. For a list of OneBlood Donor Centers and Big Red Bus blood drive locations visit www.oneblood.org.
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