Guns or Hoses? Abilene first responder vie for blood donation glory
The 12th annual Rodney Holder Memorial Blood Drive is scheduled for two days next week.
Donated blood from what more commonly is called the Guns & Hoses blood drive, goes to Hendrick Regional Blood Center.
No surprise that the Guns are the Abilene Police Department and Hoses the Abilene Fire Department, who compete for bragging honors.
Each first-responder group has four wins, so the 2023 champ will move to the top.
The Hoses won last year with 226 pints of blood. Overall, 413 pints were donated to the blood center, which serves 19 hospitals in Taylor County and 13 Abilene-area counties
A donor designates which department gets credit.
Blood will be drawn from 8 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday. Donations can be made at the blood center, 1701 Pine St., or at the bloodmobile set up a the studios of KRBC/KTAB TV, 4510 South 14th St.
The drive began in 2011 to honor Holder, an APD officer and motorcycle patrolman who died while on patrol the year before. Holder was a blood donor.
This timing of the drive comes when donations fall off due to summer vacations.
"During the summertime, we see fewer donations, but the need for blood for trauma patients, cancer treatments, surgeries and other medical issues is pressing year-round,” said Lauren Spindler, blood center marketing and business development manager.
Donors must at least 17 and meet other eligibility requirements. Go to hendrickbloodcenter.org to find those. For information, also follow the blood center on Facebook or call 325-670-2798.
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Guns or Hoses? Abilene first responder vie for blood donation glory
