“It’s the blood on the shelf today that makes a difference in our ability to respond”, said Martin Grable, the CEO for Community Blood Center of the Carolinas.
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Being a part of making sure the blood is ready is just one of the reasons Abbott is a regular donor. During their regular Monday blood drive at Good Samaritan Health Center in Merrill, Blood Center Director Lisa Purpura told WAOW television that some of the donated blood from Wisconsin is getting sent to Florida. “I always wanted to continue to give blood and help other people”.
Something officials in Orlando said they need after Sunday’s shooting in Orlando is blood.
“It’s the right thing to do when you know that there is someone in need, especially a population that is ineligible to donate blood”, Reinhardt said.
The service says demand is increasing and it needs another 20,000 donors a year to keep up with demand.
“The FDA is revising and looking at that regulation, they are revising it so people who were on an indefinite deferral will be pursued to come in and donate”, Purpura said.
“It’s hurricane season. That means we could go three, four, five days without collecting blood”.
If you’re in the Orlando area, there are locations to donate blood and plasma to the victims.
The FDA claims this policy helps to reduce the risk of transmitting HIV, but gay rights organizations say lacks a scientific basis. United Blood Service staff can ship blood to Orlando within 48 hours, so it can be used for the Orlando victims. When mass trauma takes priority, like it is doing in Orlando, blood banks have to beg neighbors near and far for help.
“It is something I like to do”, Weigle said. The regulation still stands which is, if you are a gay man, you can not donate blood if you have had sexual intercourse within the past year.
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Many in the LGBT community, perhaps most affected by the tragedy, are being turned away.
