‘We were more than happy to help our neighbors’ Coffee Memorial Blood Center sends units to Florida for Hurricane Ian

AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) - Coffee Memorial Blood Center is sending units to Florida to help with a shortage due to Hurricane Ian.

“Unfortunately with the weather that Florida’s having they did have to reach out and ask for units to be sent to Florida to help,” says Misti Newsom, donor recruitment and events manager, Coffee Memorial Blood Center. “We were more than happy to send units over to help our neighbors.”

Thousands of people are currently trapped inside their homes and at least 17 people are dead.

“When situations happen like that we always think if it happened to us, then we would hope somebody would send us blood if needed,” Newsom said. “When hurricanes happen like that a lot of times they have to shut down their centers, they can’t do their mobile blood drives, and they don’t have a way to actually get blood there and they were already at a critical level before the storm hit,”

The local blood center makes sure to set aside blood donations to help neighbors in need during times of emergency like Hurricane Ian.

It is necessary to have enough supply to help the Amarillo community first, that is why Coffee Memorial recommends residents to go donate.

“People need to understand that we need 125 units a day just here in Amarillo to take care of our own because we take care of 31 counties so we need to be collecting over 125 a day in order to be able to help our neighbors out when they ask,” says Newsom.

Starting on Oct. 1, the blood center is starting its new campaign “Vein Drain.”

Everyone who donates will get a glow-in-the-dark Halloween t-shirt that says, “save a vampire, give blood,” as well as a free ticket to the 6th Street Massacre Haunted House in Amarillo.

To donate blood to help send more units and keep a stable supply at home visit here to see all of the locations where you can donate at or call and make an appointment at (806) 331-8833.

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