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Our hearts go out to all those in Florida who are being impacted by Hurricane Ian.

At The Community Blood Center (CBC), our responsibility is serving hospitals right here in our communities, but there are also times we must help those outside of the Midwest. CBC is monitoring the situation in Florida as Hurricane Ian makes landfall. Currently, we have units of blood prepared to be shipped to the South. We attempted to send blood products Tuesday night, but transportation avenues were already closed due to the hurricane. We are continuing to keep a close eye on what’s happening and will be shipping blood as soon as it is possible.

A natural disaster like Hurricane Ian can rapidly lead to a blood emergency. Blood centers often have to close donor centers and cancel blood drives. Acting quickly is imperative as the storm rips through.

“The blood community is a generous one. In times of need, we rally together to support each other and the patients who rely on blood,” said John Hagins, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Community Blood Center. “We are grateful for the blood donors who stepped up in the days and weeks prior to this event – they could be helping victims of this disaster or patients in hospitals for other reasons who need blood.”

As we support other regions and blood centers in their times of need, we are confident that if a crisis arose in our own community, we would have the same support from blood centers across the nation.

“During situations like this, people often wonder what they can do to help,” added Hagins. “We encourage community members to schedule a blood donation so we are prepared to help if more blood is needed.”

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We will continue updating this post as this is a rapidly changing situation.