WINDCREST, Texas – The South Texas Blood and Tissue Center continues to struggle to keep their shelves stocked with blood donations.
The center provides services in more than 100 hospitals and clinics in South and Central Texas. In Windcrest, the community is coming together to host a blood drive after one of their own friends was affected by the shortage.
On Sunday morning, Carol Hobaugh drove through the parking lot of Windcrest United Methodist Church to drop off homemade cookies in gratitude for the community’s support.
“All I did was put in a prayer request, and they ran with it,” Hobaugh said.
The blood drive is in honor of Dr. Don Hobaugh, who suffers from severe anemia and kidney disease. As of Sunday morning, at least 30 people had committed to donate blood in the parking lot of the church; however, more donors are needed.
“It gets very scary,” Carol said. “When we were at the hospital one day, I expected Don to get a second unit of blood. And so I, I said to the nurse, ‘Aren’t we going to get a second unit?’ And they said (the) doctor didn’t order it.”
Her request for prayers came after Don was sent home without receiving a second unit of blood for the transfusion.
“The doctor called me and explained that the new protocols for the hospital is if people have a hemoglobin level of seven, then they don’t want doctors to send their patients for a transfusion,” Carols said. “(The doctor said it’s because) the blood bank is so low on blood (supply) right now.”
For the Hobaugh’s church family, they felt it was necessary to set up the blood drive in conjunction with the Windcrest Fire Department.
“I think until it affects you personally, you don’t feel like (the low blood supply) affects you,” Beverly Cunningham said. Cunningham is a friend of the Hobaughs. “I mean, Dr. Hobaugh is someone that’s loved by a great many people. He and his wife both are very big in our church. They’re very devout.”
Although Sunday’s donations may not directly benefit Don, donors and organizers hope it encourages more people to realize the current need and threat it poses to patients in the community.
To register to donate blood and save lives through the South Texas Blood and Tissue Center, click here.
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Blood donations, especially types O negative and positive, are still urgently needed