LifeSouth Community Blood Centers are in critical need of blood.
The nonprofit, which operates in Florida, Georgia and Alabama, typically has less blood donated during the holidays. But donations have not returned to normal levels following the new year.
“What happened this year is that because of cold weather, and more so because so many people have been sick with the flu that’s going around, we haven’t seen the donations increase like we typically would,” said Laura Bialeck, LifeSouth’s North Florida District community coordinator.
Combined with blood usage increases, the shortage of donors created an emergency need, which took effect Wednesday, she said.
To inform students and residents of this, LifeSouth has placed signage around blood mobiles and reached out on social media.
Wesley Carter, 25, of Gainesville, donated blood this weekend and said he didn’t know about the critical need. But he would have donated anyways, he said.
“You never know when you might need it,” Carter said.
People often don’t donate because they are afraid, Bialeck said.
Becca Negron, a 21-year-old UF creative photography senior, does not plan on giving blood because she hates needles. When she walks into a doctor’s office, she said her heartbeat rises to the point that the doctor cannot take her pulse.
“I feel like I should (donate),” Negron said. “I’m a healthy human, and I don’t need all my blood, I guess. But I feel like there are lots of other people that are willing and able.”
For first-time donors who might be nervous or unsure if they are eligible, Bialeck encourages them to try donating.
“Step up and donate,” Bialeck said.
[A version of this story ran on page 4 on 1/20/2015 under the headline “Blood banks in critical need"]
- You spent six months or more on a U.S. military base in Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain or Turkey from 1980-1996
- You have had sex with a prostitute even once
- You use Insulin from cows to treat diabetes
* Information courtesy of LifeSouth Community Blood Centers
