AUGUSTA, GA (WFXG) - Shepeard Blood Center is in urgent need of blood donors. The Director of Community Resources Ashley Whitaker told FOX 54 in the past week, they have had more than 30 blood drive cancellations due to schools and businesses closing amid COVID-19.

The organization said they were already in need of blood with flu season leading to less donors and now have an even lower supply for our local hospitals. They told FOX 54 that even though there is an epidemic right now, the need for blood is not going down. 

Whitaker said, “Cancer patients are still needing their treatments. Those things can’t stop. Surgeries still have to happen, and traumas still happen. So, even in the event of an emergency, we still need to have that blood on the shelf, and that’s why it is so important that people come and donate.”

Shepeard Blood Center will host an emergency blood drive Thursday, March 19, at Burke County Sheriff’s Office from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m.

Whitaker says the center follows strict guidelines and regulations all year, and the mobile units used at the blood drive will keep people from being in big groups or too close to another person.

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