How northwest residents can help donate blood in wake of Las Vegas shooting

SEATTLE — With hundreds of people sent to the hospital in the wake of the deadly Las Vegas shooting, Northwest Bloodworks is preparing to send its own supply to Nevada.

Bloodworks Northwest is standing by to send an emergency shipment of blood components after a gunman opened fire from his hotel window into a music festival crowd of 22,000 people. It’s the deadliest shooting in U.S. history with 58 killed and 515 injured.

United Blood Services told Northwest Bloodworks that while their immediate hospital requirements are being met, additional supplies will be needed in the future.

“At times like this, people want to make a difference," said James P. AuBuchon, MD, president and CEO of Bloodworks. "We’re urging local donors who have not donated recently -- regulars and first-timers -- to help us build strong local inventories by donating this week so we can be ready to respond when shipments to Las Vegas are needed to help victims of this tragedy.”

Local donors can schedule an appointment at schedule.bloodworksNW.org or by calling 1-800-398-7888. Donors can also can check online at bloodworksnw.org to find dates and times of mobile drives close to where they live or work.

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When disasters happen and emergency transfusions are required, the need is acute for most-common Type O blood, platelets and universal AB plasma.
 
"While our primary mission supports local patients, when catastrophes happen we do whatever we can to help -- even when local supplies are as tight as they've been in recent weeks," AuBuchon said. "Whether the need is local or somewhere else, we need to be able to respond instantly -- and for that we need stronger inventories all the time.

If you’re not in a position to donate blood, you can donate to other organizations. The Southern Nevada chapter of the Red Cross accepts donations on its website, by phone at 702-369-3674 or via mail at 1771 East Flamingo Road, #206B, Las Vegas, Nevada, 89119.

Also, a GoFundMe account has been set up to aid the victims and the families of those who were killed. Clark County Commission Chairman Steve Sisolak and Sheriff Joe Lombardo created the account with a fundraising goal of $1 million. Click here to visit the GoFundMe page.

Cox Media Group