COLLEGE STATION, Texas — From surgeries, to cancer treatments and more, blood is needed in the Brazos Valley community every day.
Amy Landsgaard is donating for the first time, and lives a very active lifestyle outdoors.
“I used to train horses for the movies," Landsgaard said.
"I came to Texas and now I raise horses to be trained for reining cow horses mostly.”
On Wednesday, she took time away from the stables to be at the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center in College Station to donate what nurses say she has a little too much of.
“Well, I was helping myself today by getting rid of the red blood cells that I have too much of, but finding out that it’s helping someone else who doesn’t have enough, which is a big plus," she said.
The Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center of the Brazos Valley services all nine hospitals from Bryan to Huntsville.
Steve Walker, the Regional Operations Manager tells 15ABC that the beginning of the year is usually when hospitals and their facilities need an increase in donors the most.
“During the holidays, a lot of people go back home and they aren’t really coming in and donating, so we need to restock that blood on the shelf," Walker said.
"Blood does have an expiration date — it doesn’t last forever. Blood is only good for 42 days and platelets are only good for five days.”
While Landsgaard has to wait another eight weeks to donate blood, she said she’ll be back.
“I’ll be donating red cells and platelets and in the meantime, I’ll be training my horses and staying outside as much as possible,” Landsgaard said.
If you would like to donate blood at the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center, you can make an appointment at giveblood.org
The Blood Center of the Brazos Valley is also hosting a hiring event on Tuesday, Jan. 9 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.