KSBY’s annual Be a Hero Blood Drive is coming up next week

The annual Be a Hero Blood Drive is scheduled to take place next week.

KSBY is partnering with Vitalant to host the event from 1-7 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 30.

Shelly McNamara, a surgical nurse at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center in San Luis Obispo, works in the trauma center and sees firsthand the need for blood donations.

“Cancer patients also are in need of blood and platelets. Kidney patients that have kidney disease are in need of blood and platelets. It’s very important. I encourage everyone to donate if they can,” she said.

McNamara says she started donating blood when she was 18 years old and has donated hundreds of times.

Click here to register to donate during the Be a Hero Blood Drive. Appointments are available at the KSBY studios and at the Vitalant Donation Center in Santa Maria.