Red Cross holds mass blood drive in Jackson area

JACKSON, Miss. ( WJTV ) – Officials with the American Red Cross are encouraging people to donate blood as the country continues to deal with a national shortage.

The organization held a mass blood drive on Tuesday in the Jackson metro area in order to increase donations.

Children's of Mississippi receives $1.5 million for surgical unit

"Blood is something that you can't buy. You know, you can't get on Amazon. You can't get on Walmart and buy blood. The only way to get blood is through the generosity of blood donors. So, that's why we have to set these drives up and people come out. They supply the blood that patients need right now," said Dane Usry, district manager for the Red Cross.

Donations will help people in need of a blood transfusion or those who are suffering from blood-related conditions.

To learn more about where to donate blood,.

Watch for us in your inbox.

Subscribe Now

Daily News

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJTV.

Former U.S. Rep. Michael Grimm, a New York Republican who resigned from Congress following a tax fraud conviction, is paralyzed from the chest down after being thrown from a horse during a polo tournament, according to friends who are raising funds to pay for the ex-lawmaker's medical care. Grimm, 54, suffered the devastating injury in September and is now being treated at the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in New Jersey, where the late actor Christopher Reeve was treated after a similar equestrian accident in 1995, according to Vincent Ignizio, a friend of Grimm's who is a former New York City Council member. "It was a passion of his and he suffered a tragic accident at the end of September," said Ignizio, who has set up a GoFundMe account to pay for Grimm's medical care.