Puerto Rico needs blood donations following Hurricane Maria

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MILTON — OneBlood, the local nonprofit blood center serving Florida and the majority of the Southeast, has sent several shipments of blood to Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria and plans to send more in the coming days and weeks.

OneBlood is working closely with the American Red Cross, the Blood Centers of America and America’s Blood Centers to coordinate daily shipments of blood and platelets to hospitals in Puerto Rico.

Widespread destruction, flooding, the lack of electricity and the displacement of millions of people on the island is making blood collections in Puerto Rico extremely difficult.  As a result, the hospitals in Puerto Rico are in need of help from the mainland to help ensure a ready blood supply for their patients.

OneBlood also sent blood to Puerto Rico in advance of Hurricane Maria arriving and did the same before Hurricane Irma as well. 

Visit www.oneblood.org and click on the “Donate Now” tab in the upper right hand corner to find a donor center or Big Red Bus.

Generally healthy people age 16 or older who weigh at least 110 pounds can donate blood.

Dates to donate in Santa Rosa County include:

  • Sept. 30, 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the baby shower event at the Santa Rosa auditorium, 4530 Spikes Way in Milton
  • Oct. 1, 9: a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at St. Sylvester Catholic Church, 6464 Gulf Breeze Parkway
  • Oct. 1, 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Navarre United Methodist Church, 9474 Navarre Parkway
  • Oct. 1, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Milton’s The Tin Cow, 5070 Highway 90
  • Oct. 2, 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Milton High School, 5445 Stewart St.

This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Puerto Rico needs blood donations following Hurricane Maria