2 local blood banks call for donations as supply dwindles

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - With the local blood supply dangerously low, two local blood banks are working hard to bring in donors this week.

The newly opened Blood Connection location in Augusta is hosting a blood drive at the site of its new blood donation center, 3156 Perimeter Parkway, Suite 201, to address the current critical need for blood.

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A bloodmobile will be set up outside the center on Thursday from 2-7 p.m. The blood drive was first planned at Doctors Hospital, which the blood bank serves, but has been moved.

As a thank-you to those who donate blood, all donors will receive a $20 eGift card. To show special appreciation to first responders, health care workers and teachers, those donors will receive a bonus $20 Amazon gift card by showing their badge or ID.

To make an appointment to donate blood at the drive, click here.

Meanwhile, Shepeard Community Blood Center, which serves other hospitals in the area, is in urgent need of all blood types, but especially of O positive and O negative.

All summer, the nonprofit blood bank has seen a decline in blood donations, but a trauma case over the weekend raised the urgency.

To donate, you can walk into any center or call 706-737-4551 for an appointment. To find a mobile drive or find donation center locations, visit shepeardblood.org.

Blood drives by Shepeard this week include:

Wednesday: Aiken Regional Medical Center, noon to 8 p.m. inside the hospital
Thursday: Columbia County Government Complex near the library in Evans, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Friday: Hephzibah High School, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the bloodmobile