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Susie Potter urges Plaquemines Parish residents to give blood at two upcoming drives
Summary
Susie Potter announced two community blood drives organized with the parish medical center and appealed for donors, citing recent local transfusion needs and a young patient scheduled for an experimental gene-therapy treatment.
Susie Potter, who announced a parish medical‑center blood drive during the Plaquemines Parish Council meeting, asked residents to donate at two community events to build a reliable local blood supply.
"I did not want this just to be a piece of paper," Potter said, referencing a January proclamation declaring National Blood Donor Month. She outlined drives at Belle Chasse (Monday, March 16, 1–5 p.m., 8712 Highway 23) and at the PMC first floor in Port Sulfur (Thursday, April 2, 1–5 p.m.) and asked council members to promote the events on parish social media pages and to help recruit donors.
Potter described recent local transfusion needs, including a 16‑year‑old who required multiple daily transfusions and later died before a final diagnosis, and highlighted the struggles of people living with sickle cell disease, who increasingly face difficulty finding matched blood after repeated transfusions. She also described a 23‑year‑old local patient set to receive an experimental gene‑therapy procedure next week and framed the drives as important for both routine and emergency needs.
Potter noted artwork created for the effort by artist Terren Osman and explained that the Blood Center produced limited‑edition shirts tied to the campaign. "Giving blood gives you that peace of mind," she said, urging council members and residents to recruit even one additional donor.
Council Member Lefrance and others thanked Potter, corrected one advertised date (confirming Port Sulfur is Thursday, April 2), and pledged to attend and publicize the drives. Potter said promotional materials and event details would be distributed to parish Facebook pages.
The drives are local‑service efforts intended to bolster supplies for hospitals and patients requiring transfusion; Potter asked residents to help by donating or recruiting donors.
