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LAPLACE — An emergency blood drive will take place from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, May 11 at the St. Joan of Arc Family Life Center/Gym in LaPlace.

Donors should register at the following link to make an appointment: https://www.tbcdonors.org/donor/schedules/drive_schedule/40830

Limited walk-ins will be accepted due to social distancing.

With hospitals opening back up for elective surgeries and other medical treatments, blood donations are more important that ever to ensure an adequate blood supply and meet patient transfusion demands.

The usage of blood and blood components has doubled in the past week, according to Rose Lodrigues, donor recruitment representative for the River Region territory.

The Blood Center President and CEO Billy Weales said community blood supplies are approaching dangerous levels that could jeopardize patient care.

“We are collecting approximately one third of our average daily collections. The decreased needs were due to restrictions on elective surgeries and fewer trauma related injuries during stay at home orders,” Weales said. “We’ve temporarily closed half our centers due to staffing concerns and cancelled most mobile blood drives. We now need to collect more at fewer locations.”

Weales asked the public to schedule donations, noting each day needs to be completely booked to maintain an adequate blood supply.

For more information on blood donation, please call 1-(800) 86-BLOOD or visit TheBloodCenter.org.