BUDA, Texas — With the holiday season fast approaching, officials in Buda are tackling an important need: blood.
Nick Canedo is the vice president of Community Engagement with We are Blood, a nonprofit organization dedicated to keeping the flow of blood supply moving in Central Texas. Canedo said it’s hard to keep up with the daily demand during this time because schools are closed and people are usually traveling.
On Wednesday, Nov. 20, KVUE is partnering with the organization, along with the city of Buda and its fire department, to host a blood drive. Anyone can come in and donate from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Donors will get a free T-shirt.
With the city’s rapid growth, Buda City Manager Micah Grau said blood is critical.
“It’s a vital thing for our community to have this blood supply,” Grau said.
Grau added that the city is doing what it can to meet the medical needs of the community. For example, he said Baylor Scott & Scott and Ascension Seton are opening their first medical clinics in the city.
“All of those partners working together to serve the medical needs of our community are really important,” Grau said.
The city’s fire department is also doing its part. Last week, officials announced that the department had launched a “Whole Blood Program.”
EMS Chief Samuel Schuleman said this will get blood directly out to patients in the field and serve as another tool to save lives.
“We aim to increase pre-hospital survival rates for trauma patients before arrival at the hospital by carrying whole blood, and we’re happy to bring this initiative to our citizens,” Schuleman said. “It is important that we continue to get donors in the area donating to We Are Blood, our original blood supplier, and we, the fire department, will also be hosting [a] monthly or bi-monthly blood drives going forward.”