The Red Cross looks for blood donations in wake of Hurricanes Helene and Milton

With so many people in need of help down south between Hurricanes Helene and Milton, the Red Cross is hoping you can help by donating blood.

The Red Cross is stepping up calls for donors in other parts of the country to let the southeast focus on recovery.

The President of our region's chapter said the problem isn't necessarily more demand, but the fact that so many drives had to be canceled because of the weather.

"The thing about blood donations is they're always needed," Michael Tedesco, president of the American Red Cross of WNY said. "The supply can dip but demand will never dip because half of the platelets will go eventually to cancer patients. Their needs never go away. Trauma patients are always in blood. When you take into accounts the number of donations that have been lost due to the storms it really puts the inventory at risk."

There are a number of blood drives taking place around Western New York in October.

You can find the closest one here .

Anyone who donates now through the end of the month gets a $10 dollar Amazon gift card.