This Central Georgia medical center helped victims recover after Apalachee High School shooting

DUBLIN, Ga. — Tragedy suddenly struck Apalachee High School last week.

Four people died, and nine people were injured including eight students and one teacher. 

Some of those victims needed blood donations immediately. 

That’s where Shepeard Community Blood Center stepped in. They normally serve 30 hospitals, but last week, another hospital was added to that list. 

“On Wednesday morning, we actually got a call from Grady Hospital, our CEO did, and he responded. They asked for very specific things,” Account Manager Carol Wiley said. 

She said the hospital was short on o-negative and o-positive blood.

“And this is not a hospital that we would normally supply, and we were able to share some of what we had,” Wiley said. “We didn’t have everything that they needed, but we did share what we could.”

They’re able to stay prepared for tragedies by hosting blood drives, like one on Tuesday at Twiggs Academy. Many students stepped up to donate, after blood saved student lives last week in Barrow County. 

“This is something that you have to be proactive at, not reactive. We could not have went and said, ‘There’s been a shooting, we need blood,'” Wiley said. “We have to already have it processed and ready to go.”

Wiley said she appreciates everyone who steps up to donate after a tragedy, but said donated blood takes about three days to test and process before it’s ready for patients.

“Think about this – it could be you or your child that needs that blood and you would wanna make sure that it was ready to go for you,” Wiley said. 

She said they could bring the donation bus to any size school or business, whether you have five employees, or five-hundred.

They also have several locations you can donate at, including one in Dublin on South Jefferson Street. 

To set up a donation drive for your school or business, call Wiley at 478-283-3325.