JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Is donating blood on your hurricane preparedness list?
Officials with blood donation centers on the First Coast say they need more regular donors so they're prepared for bad weather. They say donations are needed to make sure supplies are adequate in case blood drives are cancelled due to bad weather.
"People are not going to be coming out to these blood drives during stormy weather," said James Skahn with Lifesouth Community Blood Centers. "Even if we're just getting bypassed by a hurricane, that week or so you're going to see a huge drop in people coming out to give in the first place."
American Red Cross estimates 1,000 blood and platelet donations were not collected because of cancelled blood drives when Hurricane Ian hit last year. Red Cross states they sent hundreds of blood products to Florida even though they don't typically service hospitals in the state. They were supporting their partners through a disaster response task force.
Skahn says Lifesouth is part of a group of blood centers ready to respond to national emergencies called the Blood Emergency Readiness Corps. He says Lifesouth usually has a one to two-day blood supply at any given time, but ideally they would have double that.
"We are generally in emergency need in Jacksonville more often than not," Skahn said. "We have blood to supply to our hospitals but as far as the reserve goes that we want to hit for, it's rare to get there. We just need more people to be regular donors."
One blood donation can save up to three lives, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Find the Lifesouth blood drive nearest you here. Skahn says LIfesouth will be partnering with local libraries.
See where to donate blood with Red Cross here.