Kentucky Blood Center facing shortages after Hurricane Helene

The Kentucky Blood Center says they’re in need of donations after Hurricane Helene caused a string of blood drive cancellations last Friday and Saturday.

KBC spokesperson Eric Lindsay says they’re working to reschedule those drives in the meantime.

“In these coming days, it's definitely something we'll have to try to make up those units to ensure that we don't reach critical levels for our blood supply,” Lindsay said.

The center says they had to cancel multiple blood drives last Friday and Saturday. They estimate they lost 130 units of blood thanks to the storm. That’s enough for nearly 400 people who may be in need.

Lindsay says weather events like these can worsen shortages.

“You can make sure when those things happen, that they don't cause a huge disruption by donating in advance by making it a regular habit,” Lindsay said. “So then when things like this do happen, we're able to cushion for it.”

The center says they’re most in need of type O and type A negative donors. They’re also looking to shore up their supply so they can contribute to victims in North Carolina and Tennessee.

“We will be ready to help if needed, but in order to help, we'll need to make sure our supply is healthy, in order to help out our neighbors,” Lindsay said.

A list of donor centers is available here . Information on how to donate, including an interactive map of mobile drives and centers, is available here .

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