As the Houston area deals with the impacts of Hurricane Harvey, one local organization is offering a way to help.
Bloodworks Northwest is shipping blood supplies to Texas to support emergency efforts, and is asking local residents to help restore local inventories by scheduling a donation.
“Having seen the images from Houston, we need to be ready to respond if additional shipments to Texas are needed in the days and weeks ahead to help people recover from the devastation caused by Harvey and its aftermath,” said James P. AuBuchon, MD, president and CEO of Bloodworks in a statement.
On Monday, Bloodworks sent an emergency shipment to the Gulf Coast Blood Center in Houston — where flooding has made it impossible to distribute blood or collect blood from donors — and the Carter Blood Center in Dallas. Bloodworks also sent a shipment to McAllen, Texas last week to help those evacuating from coastal communities as they prepared for the hurricane.
“While our primary mission supports local patients, when catastrophes happen we do whatever we can to help — even when local supplies are as tight as they’ve been in recent weeks,” AuBuchon said. “It is our amazing donors who make it possible.”
The nearest Bloodworks donation centers are located at 921 Terry Ave. in First Hill, and 10357 Stone Ave. N. in North Seattle.
For more information on Bloodworks Northwest, or to schedule a donation appointment, go to www.bloodworksnw.org.