Blood centers short on donations due to Hurricane Laura

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — The Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center is in need of blood donations as it grapples with a pandemic and the aftermath of a major hurricane.

The blood center was forced to shut down its Greater Houston area locations on Wednesday due to Hurricane Laura and the threat of catastrophic conditions.

The closures have resulted in a loss of about 600 units of blood. Typically, the donation center receives 800 to 1,000 units a day.

That’s why they are urging the public to put “giving blood” on their emergency checklists.

“It does make it a little bit challenging,” said Cameron Palmer, Community Development Coordinator with Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center. “We are in a pandemic, and now a hurricane is coming through, but like we said, we don’t want the community to forget about the patients in the hospital that need blood transfusions to survive.”