Blood donors prepare to help Florida as Hurricane Ian approaches

OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. (WLOX) -With Hurricane Ian nearing Florida’s coast, several blood donors are preparing to help.

Blood donation centers on the Mississippi Coast are working hard to supply hospitals in Florida before the storm hits.

At the Blood Center on Monday, staff said they have been averaging around 20 people donating blood daily. Supervisor Lindsi Davis said hospitals still need to supply patients with blood even when extreme weather hits.

The donation center has already started sending blood to different hospitals before the storm hits on Thursday.

“We do need donations because Florida, the hospital will be calling for products from us. They’ve already started where we have to ship platelets over there before the storm hits. So, they’ll have products beforehand for the hospital before the storm goes in and we can’t get to them,” Davis said. “On person doing a whole blood donation can save three lives. We can use their red cells, platelets and their plasma.”

The center is encouraging people to donate blood and help with the impending need.

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