When Red Cross disaster volunteers found out September 5th was Blood Donation Day, several took a break from their Hurricane Dorian-related duties (at the Red Cross of Georgia’s Operation Headquarters in Atlanta), and walked next door to the Midtown Blood Donation Center to roll up a sleeve and help save lives.  

One of these extra-compassionate volunteers was Gary Halbe. He is a regular blood donor, deployed to Georgia from Ocean City, NJ to help with Dorian relief efforts in the area of Disaster Services Technology. With today’s platelet donation, he has reach 15 gallons of lifetime, donated blood! 

“I donate blood to save lives,” said Gary. “I also volunteer at high school blood drives back home. I think it’s important to encourage young folks to become regular blood donors.” 

Gary is pictured in the Midtown Blood Donation Center, holding the official Proclamation from Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, for Blood Donation Day in Georgia. The proclamation was presented to Red Cross of Georgia CEO, Jennifer Pipa, only a few hours before Gary and his fellow volunteers decided to donate blood. 

“This is awesome,” Jennifer Pipa said. “They are already giving their time to help people affected by Dorian and now this!? This is compassion in action!”

Already, Hurricane Dorian has resulted in around 70 canceled blood drives across the Southeastern U.S. That’s more than 1,800 units of uncollected blood. Now is the time for regular donors and new donors to step-up, like Gary, and roll up their sleeves to help keep the blood supply at a safe level. 

Please consider making a blood donation appointment today, at RedCrossBlood.org.