First time donor, Richard Quiles, gave platelets and plasma on Wednesday, and his donation helps blood banks across the nation like Houchin Community Blood Bank address the critical blood shortage.
- Video shows first time donor giving blood at the Houchin Community Blood Bank
- The American Red Cross reports an additional 8000 units of blood need to be collected each week to recover from the current blood shortage.
Spending about ten minutes in one of these chairs can save a life, and the Houchin Community Blood Bank says needs more donors to address the severe blood shortage in Bakersfield.
This is what the donor floor looks like at Houchin Community Blood Bank during the summer months…empty.
But, first-time donor, Richard Quiles filled this seat nervous to start the process.
“I want a tattoo, but I don’t know if I want one after this,” Quiles said.
Shane Hubbard with the Houchin Community Blood Bank tells me his donation is critical now more than ever.
“I’ve been working here for four years, and this is the first time I’ve seen no blood on the shelf.”