All blood types are needed, however there is an increased need for O Negative, O Positive, as well as platelet donors.

“LifeSouth officials report the storm could not come at a worse time, as blood supplies are low, and the storm will impact much-needed blood drives across Florida, Georgia and parts of Alabama over the week,” a release from LifeSouth said.

January is National Blood Donor Month. If you have never donated blood before, it’s worth considering.

LifeSouth is hosting a series of mobile drives to help ease the blood supply shortage in Florida.

OneBlood is urging blood donors in areas not impacted by Hurricane Ian to donate as soon as possible.

Tuesday is “World Blood Donor Day,” which was created to help raise awareness about blood donations and to thank all those who donate blood.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. People donating blood can now be tested for the COVID-19 antibodies through OneBlood. Within about 48 hours, people eligible to donate blood can find out if their immune system has produced antibodies to the novel coronavirus, regardless of whether they had symptoms. We want to avoid a shortage, said Susan Forbes, senior vice president of corporate communications for OneBlood. "At first, I was crushed and then I was mad.Forbes the delay was because the organization had to update its computer systems to reflect the new donor eligibility criteria. These individuals can donate blood as long as their trip was more than three months ago.