Hurricane Irma: OneBlood Appealing For Blood Donations

OneBlood, the blood center serving much of the state of Florida, will be ceasing operations completely after Friday as Hurricane Irma barrels toward the state, and the blood center is appealing to people to donate.

The blood bank's operations in Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, Brevard and the Ft. Myers area have closed, and after Friday, the entire service area will be closed. The blood bank is appealing to people to donate to the centers that are still open. (For more hurricane news or local news from Florida, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Clearwater Patch, and click here to find your local Florida Patch. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

"The most critical time for blood donations is prior to any storm in order to sustain the blood supply during and immediately after the event," OneBlood said in a press release. "Hurricanes have the potential to disrupt the blood supply for several days. This is why it is imperative that additional blood is available before the storm arrives."

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OneBlood said all blood types are needed and there is an urgent need for O Negative and O Positive blood as well as platelet donations.

You can find a blood donation center by visiting OneBlood's website and entering your zip code.

OneBlood is aiming to resume operations by Sept. 12 if conditions permit.

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