Replenishment Blood Drive held for MPD Sergeant

MONROE, La. (KNOE) – Lifeshare Blood Center of Monroe held a replenishment drive for Monroe Police Department Sergeant Robert Dewayne Crowder who suffered a heart attack on duty earlier this month.

“It’s an opportunity to give back and help out. Police officers are out here protecting you 24/7, 365 days a year if you can see fit to come out and give blood it not only helps Sergeant Crowder but also everybody that’s in Louisiana because it might be you that needs the blood in the near future, you just never know,” said MPD Chief Victor Zordan.

The need for blood is high across the country. With trauma patients getting first priority to blood, people like Sergeant Crowder might have their procedures pushed back.

“The National Blood Centers of America released in September that we were in a national blood shortage. Now to a lot of people that might think, across the nation it’s spread out, that’s okay. Everybody hurts a little but nobody hurts a lot. That’s not how it works, that’s not how blood works,” said Regional Director for Lifeshare Blood Centers Michael Bricker.

“There are pockets of need, and then there’s a general depression or despair of a blood – sorry a general deficit of blood around right, but there are pockets that it really does affect.”

According to Bricker, they’ve had around 70 donors today. He encourages the community to come to Lifeshare any day to donate blood but to specifically help Sergeant Crowder.

Enough donations need to be made by 3 p.m. Oct. 27.

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