Blood center encourages donations ahead of Hurricane Irma

As Irma approaches the Leeward Islands, OneBlood urges Florida residents to donate blood now, ahead of the storm’s arrival and possible impact to Florida.

The non-for-profit blood center serving Florida said in a release Hurricane Irma’s current path is “too close for comfort and that now is the time to alert the public that an increase in donations is needed.”

Officials with the National Hurricane Center have said it’s too early to tell if or how much Irma could impact Florida.

Hurricanes can disrupt the blood supply for several days, OneBlood noted, so before the storm hits is a critical time for donations in order to sustain the blood supply during and after the storm.

All blood types are needed, but there is an increased need for types O Negative and O Positive. Platelet and plasma donations are also an increased need ahead of the storm, according to OneBlood.

OneBlood has already been asked to assist Puerto Rico and has shipped 100 units of blood to the island in preparation for Irma, according to the release.

All eligible donors are encouraged by OneBlood to make blood donation part of their storm preparations and visit a donor center or Big Red Bus.

The Bradenton OneBlood location, 216 Manatee Ave. E., will be holding a blood drive from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Thursday and 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Friday.

For a full list of locations visit www.oneblood.org.

This story was originally published September 5, 2017 at 7:27 AM with the headline "Blood center encourages donations ahead of Hurricane Irma."