Local blood donations desperately needed; one group not able to help

In the wake of what happened in Orlando, people across the country came together in order to help in any way they could.
One of the ways they can help, is by donating blood.
Life Stream in La Quinta needs blood more than ever right now.
“This is our summer season, we’re actually thin on blood donations. We need to see more come in. We’re short about 2,000 units for the summer. Orlando hospitals did call asking for donations but we weren’t able to because of our shortage,” said Sherry De La Cobas, manager of Donor Operations at Life Stream.
Many in the gay community say they want to help.
“I’d be donating as much as I could,” said Rory Raggio.
But Raggio can’t. He’s one of many gay men who want to help those in Orlando but can’t because of the FDA ban.
“I believe that its discriminatory. I think it’s assuming every gay person has an STD whether its HIV or another STD,” Raggio said.
But De La Cobas said the year ban is a precaution because of the incubation period of certain STDs.
“As soon as we can we can shorten down the time frame from when a person is exposed and when they test positive for it, the smaller and smaller we can get that window the better chances we can get to accepting everyone again,” De La Cobas said.
She said if you haven’t been with a man in a year you can donate.
If not, the best way to help is to volunteer.
“The biggest thing we can do today is donate to the cause and vote the right way,” Raggio said.
Many said despite the bans it’s important that everyone comes together to support in any way possible.
“We’re all human beings. This is the reason we need to come together when things like this happen and not just when things like this happen but all the time,” said Heather Johnson who lives in Palm Springs.
Life Stream is staying open an extra hour Monday. They’ll be open untill 7 p.m., so people who work have the chance to come by.