BLOOD DONATIONS - A lot businesses and organizations have been severely affected by the Coronavirus emergency stay-at-home orders. LifeShare Blood Centers serve a large area including East Texas, South Arkansas and North and Central Louisiana. It’s where people donate blood that is used in area hospitals to treat people with life-threatening injuries or illness. COVID-19 has affected blood donations cancelling over 300 hundred blood drives and resulting in 6000+ fewer blood donations. Bobby Carney is regional director and explains that there is a critical need for blood.
"We still have a need in our parish or in our region,"Carney explained. "There are still folks that are suffering with cancer that are going through chemo that requires blood transfusions, there are still folks that are sickely-cell patients that need blood. And we still have premature babies in our NICUs (neonatal intensive care units) that need blood. So that need will always be there."
LifeShare Blood Centers are playing a role in helping fight COVID-19, last Saturday, the first convalescent plasma therapy in Louisiana was given to an critically ill COVID-19 patient at Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport Academic Medical Center. Both individuals who donated plasma at LifeShare are fully recovered from COVID-19.
If you’d like to donate blood and would like to know if you’re able to help with fighting the COVID-19 illnes, CLICK LIFESHARE.ORG
