ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) – Several shipments of blood are on their way to Maria-devastated Puerto Rico from OneBlood, a not-for-profit blood center serving Florida and the majority of the Southeast.
The organization says widespread destruction, flooding and power outages have left millions of people on the island displaced and made it extremely difficult to collect blood in Puerto Rico.
OneBlood plans to send more blood to Puerto Rico in the coming days and they’re encouraging eligible donors to visit one of their donor centers (see below) or find a Big Red Bus nearby to give blood to those in need. They’re working closely with the American Red Cross, the Blood Centers of America (BCA) and America’s Blood Centers (ABC) to arrange daily shipments of blood and platelets to Puerto Rico’s hospitals.
To find out how you can donate, simply visit oneblood.org and click on the “Donate Now” tab in the upper right-hand corner.
You must be generally healthy, over the age of 16 and weigh at least 110 to be eligible.
To learn more about the importance of blood donation, visit oneblood.org.HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY LOCATIONS
- Tampa – Fletcher Donor Center, 5301 E Fletcher Ave., Tampa
- Plant City Donor Center, 2909 James L. Redman Pkwy, Suite 6, Plant City
- Brandon Donor Center, 727 West Lumsden Rd., Suite A, Brandon
PINELLAS COUNTY LOCATIONS
- Palm Harbor Donor Center, 33825 US Hwy. 19 N., Palm Harbor
- St. Petersburg – Main Donor Center, 9900 Dr. MLK Jr. St. N., St. Petersburg
- St. Petersburg – 22nd Ave Donor Center, 6808 22nd Ave. N., Tyrone, St. Petersburg
- Clearwater – Missouri Donor Center, 1680 S. Missouri Ave., Clearwater
SARASOTA COUNTY LOCATIONS
- North Port Donor Center, 14820 Tamiami Trail, North Port
- Venice Donor Center, 4155 S. Tamiami Trail, vENICE
MANATEE COUNTY LOCATIONS
- Bradenton – State Road 70 Donor Center, 11161 East State Road 70, Bradenton
- Bradenton – Manatee Donor Center, 216 Manatee Ave. E, Bradenton
PASCO COUNTY LOCATIONS
- New Port Richey Donor Center, 5355 US Highway 19 North, New Port Richey
- Zephyrhills Donor Center, 38040 Market Square Dr., Zephyrhills
- Wesley Chapel Donor Center, 5319 Village Market, Wesley Chapel
POLK COUNTY LOCATIONS
- Lakeland – Lakeland Hills Donor Center, 3200 Lakeland Hills Blvd., Lakeland
- Davenport Donor Center, 39861 U.S. 27 N., Davenport
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