DES MOINES, Iowa -- As Hurricane Ian batters Florida, the call's being put out for blood donations in Iowa.
"We sent blood products to them Monday, ahead of the storm. And we're touching base daily to see if they need more as the storm progresses, and once it's over to see what the real impact is," says Danielle West with LifeServe Blood Center.
She says any blood being sent to Florida as part of LifeServe's commitment to the American Association of Blood Banks is blood that can't be used to meet needs in Iowa.
"They want the products that we're always looking for as well--O-positive and O-negative are used most often in trauma situations, and that's the red cells we sent earlier this week. They're also looking for platelet products," West says.
She says the national call for blood in Florida during the hurricane highlights ongoing shortages in Iowa.
"The year we've actually seen less donors come out than the last couple of years during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. I think people really wanted a way to help out the community during the pandemic, and now people are kind of back to their normal life and maybe not thinking about it as much," West says.
She also says blood drives that had been organized by businesses or colleges before the pandemic haven't been rescheduled.
West says those looking to donate blood can schedule an appointment by calling LifeServe Blood Center at 800.287.4903 or visiting lifeservebloodcenter.org.
LifeServe Blood Center is the sole provider of blood and blood products to more than 120 hospitals in Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota