WACO, TX — 25 News and Carter Blood Care are teaming up once again for the 4th Annual Blood Drive.
The bus will be parked outside the 25 News station on Thursday, Jan. 28 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Blood drives are an essential part of Carter Blood Care's yearly and daily intake. When the pandemic began so did a critical blood shortage. With many drives canceled, Carter Blood Care was forced to rely on the community's willingness to stop by one of their blood donation.
Dedicated to serving the community and with implemented health protocols, 25 News wanted to continue our yearly blood drive event.
"We need to see 1,100 donors a day. Once the pandemic started, it almost cut that in half," Field Recruiter, Mike McCoy said.
25% of their blood drives came from colleges and high schools, the other 75% from churches, offices and other organizations.
"Drives that we would normally go to three or four times a year had to completely cancel because there was no one at the offices," McCoy said.
Someone can donate whole blood every 56 days, but James Venable stops by every two weeks because he produces a thicker blood content than a normal human does.
Although it became a pain to go that frequently in the beginning, he now understands the power of donating so often.
"I would complain about it having to drive back and forth all the time, and he [a friend] says, "Hey man, you're saving lots of lives,"" Venable said.
With one blood donation, you could save up to 3 lives. Venable is saving about six lives per month.
"If you're willing, if you're not just going to pass out from a needle, there's no reason not to," Venable said.
Sign up here for the 25 News Blood Drive. When you show up, only two donors will be allowed in the bus at a time to maintain social distancing. A mask must be work the entire time, and things will be sanitized in between patients.
When you sign up beforehand, you can also answer the pre-screening questions for a shorter visit on Thursday.
