With Hurricane Milton threatening Florida, the need for blood donations has become urgent due to potential disruptions in blood drives leading to shortages.

Help us save lives on May 23

If you can’t make it to our studios, no worries! You can donate through June 12 at your Neighborhood Donor Center.

New guidelines issued by the Food and Drug Administration are expanding those who are now eligible to donate blood.

New blood donations rules will allow sexually active gay and bisexual men in monogamous relationships to give in the U.S. The Food and Drug Administration guidelines ease decades-old restrictions on blood donations put in place to protect the blood supply from HIV.

During the pandemic, there’s been a severe blood and platelet shortage.

If you can’t make it to our studios, no worries! You can donate thru June 13 at your Neighborhood Donor Center or any of the locations below.

You hear it often: There’s a need for blood donors -- but there’s apparently a particular need for the Black community to step up and donate.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner held a news conference Wednesday where he addressed a deficit in the city’s blood supply. Chief Medical Officer Dr. David Persse and representatives for the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center joined Turner for the 11 a.m. announcement.

The advertiser paid a fee to promote this sponsored article and may have influenced or authored the content. The views expressed in this article are those of the advertiser and do not necessarily reflect those of this site or affiliated companies. HOUSTON – The call to action for blood donations is always a high priority, but it’s especially critical during holiday breaks, when school is out and when many may be traveling. Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center’s Community Development Coordinator, Cameron Palmer shares everything we need to know. For more information visit GiveBlood.org or call 713-790-1200.

The advertiser paid a fee to promote this sponsored article and may have influenced or authored the content. The views expressed in this article are those of the advertiser and do not necessarily reflect those of this site or affiliated companies. HOUSTON – Did you know you could help save lives in our community by hosting blood drives at your business, church, school or community organization throughout the year? Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center, Director of Donor Recruitment, Kevin Shipley shares everything we need to know for a successful blood drive. For more information visit GiveBlood.org or call (713) 791-6373.

At the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center, medical director Dr. Marsha Bertholf explained, “(blood from COVID-19 survivors) contains antibodies that then can go into the patients and help fight off the virus.”Using convalescent plasma is a very old treatment. Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center said all donations stay in our community first. If you are positive for antibodies, the blood center will call you and request a plasma donation. Plasma donationPlasma is the clear, straw-colored liquid portion of blood that remains after red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets and other cellular components are removed. The Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center tests blood donations for antibodies.

There’s a critical need for blood donations in our community and your donation could help save three lives!