Residents who roll up a sleeve at the Chick-fil-A on Lake Woodlands Drive on Friday, August 7, will walk away with a limited-edition Puff Bag and a voucher for a free pint of Blue Bell ice cream.

The blood drive runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 1660 Lake Woodlands Drive. A Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center donor coach will be parked on-site to collect whole blood donations, according to the blood center's appointment portal.

Lindsay Porter, the drive's primary coordinator at the Chick-fil-A location, can be reached at (346) 379-5682 or [email protected] for questions. Appointments are preferred and available in 15-minute slots from 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.

Walk-ins are welcome.

Why it matters now

The drive comes as the American Red Cross declared an emergency blood shortage on Monday, July 13, after the national supply fell nearly 25% in June. The Red Cross said blood distributions to hospitals are running roughly 3,500 units per week higher than expected.

"Summer always brings challenges for the blood supply but patients are still in the hospital, needing blood for critical medical care," Dr. Courtney Lawrence, division chief medical officer for the American Red Cross, said in the organization's July 13 emergency declaration. "Without blood available, emergency rooms and maternity wards are paralyzed."

The shortage is especially serious for O positive and B negative blood, as well as AB plasma. Busy schedules, temporary illness, and the seasonal loss of school blood drives during summer break are driving the decline, the Red Cross said.

How to sign up

Residents can book an appointment at commitforlife.org/donor/schedules/drive_schedule/420504. Scheduling ahead helps the donor coach run smoothly.

The Chick-fil-A Lake Woodlands location announced the event on its Instagram account on Monday, July 27.