Blood bank faces critical need for donations after Helene

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Shepeard Community Blood Center remains without power at all donor centers.

An emergency generator has kept the blood supply safe, but the supply is dwindling quickly.

Shepeard has not collected any blood since Hurricane Helene hit the CSRA, but it has supplied more than 150 blood products to area hospitals.

While everyone is going through a very tough situation, they say your help is needed more than ever.

Ga. electric utilities say Helene is worst disaster to ever hit them

Georgia’s biggest electric utilities both say Hurricane Helene was the most destructive disaster in their history.

“This is nothing compared to what the families are going through at the Georgia Cancer Institute or the Children’s Hospital of Georgia. They still have it worse than any of us right now. We really gotta come together as a community in order to make sure our patients have what they need locally. We are depending on ourselves right now,” said Benjamin Prijatel, president and CEO of Shepeard Community Blood Center.

Shepeard has three buses taking donations.

Shepeard will have bloodmobiles operating on Sunday and Monday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at its donor centers in Augusta (1533 Wrightsboro Road), Evans (4329 Washington Road), and Aiken (353 Fabian Drive).

Anyone who can safely navigate to one of these locations is asked to consider donating in the coming days.

They want to remind you that one donation saves three local lives.