AUGUSTA, Ga. ()– We are looking at the importance of blood donors today. Why not save a life this January by giving blood?

January is National Blood Donor month! Donations often drop in the winter months with holiday travel, inclement weather, flu season, and other sicknesses. We can’t always predict when the need will happen, but you can help ensure that this lifesaving resource is readily available by rolling up your sleeve.

Benjamin Prijatel is the CEO of Shepeard Community Blood Center.

Benjamin Prijatel: “You know, a lot of people who use blood are actually cancer patients in our area. A side effect from the chemo often is that your body won’t produce those blood cells like it normally would. And so we have a lot of folks at the Georgia Cancer Hospital, at the Children’s Hospital who are using platelets and blood products regularly. And so there’s a big increase in people coming in right after the new year. And that’s why January tends to be a high usage month month for us.”

Jennie: And that’s important to reiterate that Shepeard does provide blood for all of our local hospitals.

Benjamin Prijatel: “You know, we were started almost 50 years ago by a group of local physicians who said, you know, we really need a local blood supply. We can’t count on it coming from Atlanta or Columbia. We need blood here for when it’s needed most. And Shepeard has been filling that role now for over four decades.”

Jennie: You have a lot of different partnerships with different businesses in the community.

Benjamin Prijatel: “You know, a lot of our local businesses are really invested into the community and they work with Shepeard because, you know, we are all reliant on this blood supply. We know, you know, one in three people are going to need blood in their life. So between me, you and your producer, one of us is going to need a blood transfusion and we don’t know who that’s going to be one day. And so we all have a responsibility to make sure that that blood is available. And that includes local businesses, churches and other organizations.”