CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The cold weather we experienced earlier this week was felt in different ways here in the Coastal Bend. Locals experienced everything from school closures to icy road conditions.
That weather even impacted the blood supply at the Coastal Bend Blood Center. The blood center typically sees fewer donations during the holidays. It had hoped to get back to normal in January, but the freeze mostly froze donations as well.
Community Relations and Education Coordinator Ashley Ramirez said the freeze caused a significant decrease in donations. She told 3NEWS that the blood center has a goal of receiving at least 120 units of blood daily. During Monday's freeze they got just 20 units and only 30 on Tuesday.
"Anytime there's any kind of not-so-great weather, maybe just you know lots of rain or maybe thunderstorms, our blood drives tend to do a little bit worse," Ramirez said. "So especially during this freeze that we just came off, it really really set us behind."
If you're able, Ramirez says it's crucial that people consider donating blood not just now, but year-round.
"One person, one incident, one traffic accident can completely deplete us of our blood supply," she said. "A lot of people are not aware that blood has a certain shelf life. For example, whole blood is only good for 42 days."
Brad Warner has been donating blood since he was in high school. He’s been rolling up his sleeve to save lives for 50 years.
"If you're healthy enough, if you're able to, that's our responsibility," Warner said. "To give something that really doesn't take anything from us but just a little bit of time. That's what we should do."
Warner understands that at any given moment anyone he cares about can need blood. That's why he continues to give.
“You can't duplicate human blood," he said. "My wife had to have blood before, my dad had to have blood before. I mean if people don't do it then where are we going to be?"
January also happens to be National Blood Donor Month. If you've never donated before, Ramirez said this is the perfect time to start and save a life.
For more information on where you can donate, there's a list of mobile drive locations on the blood center's website here.
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