BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) – Many residents have reached out, wanting to help in the wake of the officer shooting Sunday morning in Baton Rouge.
United Blood Services will extend their hours in the coming week to accept more donations. Their hours are Monday 10 a.m – 6 p.m., Tuesday 8 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., and Wednesday 7 a.m. – 3 p.m. United Blood Services of Baton Rouge is located at 8234 One Calais Ave, Baton Rouge, LA 70809.
LifeShare Blood Centers on 3849 North Blvd. will be open Sunday from 1 – 5 p.m. and will open at 8 a.m. Monday.
LifeShare is also holding a blood drive at the WalMart on 28270 Walker South Rd. in Walker from 1 – 5 p.m. Sunday.
“At the heart of our mission, we are here to provide a service those in need. We are deeply saddened by this great loss and open our doors to those taking positive steps to make our community stronger. While it is the blood given in advance of a tragedy that is used for the victims, these events underscore the importance of a stable blood supply. We welcome donors giving in memory of the fallen officers, and as always those who are giving to for patients in our community,” states Tommie Langlois, spokesperson for LifeShare Blood Centers.
Our Lady of the Lake says their emergency room is open for those in need of emergency attention and their blood supply is currently stable. They are encouraging those wanting to donate blood to NOT visit the hospital, but to to instead donate at their blood center over the next week. The hours for their blood center are 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. for Monday and Tuesday.
The Blood Center has released the following statement:
In the wake of the tragic shooting of Baton Rouge police officers, The Blood Center has been called upon by area hospitals to provide 200 blood components.
Our nation’s blood supply is at critically low levels with the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB) and the American Red Cross issuing a joint press release early last week concerning the state of the nation’s blood supply. The community is urged to visit an area donor center to give blood now. The Blood Center is opening the Denham Springs Donor Center at 1951 Florida Ave and the Hammond Donor Center at 1116 McKaskle early Monday for those wanting to donate at 9 a.m. Bogalusa, Gautier, LaPlace, Mandeville, Mathews, Metairie, Slidell, Thibodaux and Westbank donor centers’ will be open tomorrow during regular hours, available at TheBloodCenter.org and will extend hours as needed to accommodate donors.
Donations made yesterday and in the days prior are helping patients today. Without consistent and regular donations, situations like this tragic shooting that requires massive transfusions to save patient lives, would not be possible.
Regular blood donations help The Blood Center provide blood and blood components to over 40 area hospitals for patients throughout Southern Louisiana and Southern Mississippi. Groups interested in hosting a blood drive should call 800-86-BLOOD to schedule an event.
The Blood Center needs to collect 300-350 units of blood daily. Visit one of The Blood Center’s 14 area donor centers or a mobile blood drive in the next few days to prevent any disruption in patient care. The Blood Center needs adequate inventory levels in place consistently to prevent impediments in patient care.
Any healthy individual 17 (or 16 with a parental consent) and over 110 lbs. can donate whole blood every 56 days. Visit TheBloodCenter.org or call us at 800-86-BLOOD to schedule a donation. Bring a photo ID and be sure to eat and drink plenty of fluids prior to your donation.
At this time three law enforcement officers have died and several others were injured during the shooting at the B Quick gas station on Airline Hwy near Old Hammond. They include Baton Rouge Police officers and East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Deputies.
Five of the officers were transported to Our Lady of the Lake Hospital. Three of those have died, two remain at the hospital – one is reportedly in fair condition and the other is in critical condition.
Another officer was transported to the Baton Rouge General. The condition of that officer is unknown at this time.