St. Patrick's Day blood drive

What did you do for Saint Patrick's Day? In Tehachapi 41 people (many dressed in green) donated blood. An additional 17 people came out and were unfortunately turned away due to time and space limitations and hopefully they will return to the next blood drive in May.

"I couldn't be prouder of our greater Tehachapi community; they turn out to every drive. A big thank you to everyone who donated and a big thank you to those that came out and were not able to donate due to the space limitations. Again, thank you to all!" said Key Budge blood drive coordinator.

Budge stated he has requested a second bus for the Tehachapi drives to accommodate the strong turnout each time, but due to logistical issues a second bus was not available for today.

It should be noted that 41 blood donations can help up to 123 lives. This is the 28th blood drive hosted by the City of Tehachapi, Tehachapi Valley Recreation and Parks District, and Houchin Community Blood Bank since April of 2000. More than 950 people from Tehachapi have donated blood impacting 2,850 lives just in Kern County from the Tehachapi blood drives in the city.

The next Tehachapi Blood Drive will be Monday, May 16 at West Park, 490 W. D St.