Tehachapi blood donors responded on Sept. 7 with the strongest turnout we've had in the three years of coordinating blood drives with our community partners. 90 people registered to donate blood, 10 of those were first time donors including a 16-year-old who came out with her mother.

Houchin Community Blood Bank, Tehachapi Vineyard Church, Tehachapi Valley Health Care District, TVRPD and the City of Tehachapi have been working together to help fill the blood shortage in our community. On Sept. 7, 84 of the registered 90 people successfully completed their donations of blood products. 75 people donated whole blood, four donated platelets, four donated plasma and one donated a unit of packed RBC.

Each unit listed can help save up to three lives in Kern County. With 84 people donating that number becomes 234 potential lives impacted by these donations. The past blood drives have collected as many as 55 units of blood products.

"We asked Houchin Community Blood Bank to send additional personnel and resources to collect more blood products because we routinely have to turn people away at past drives or they have not been able to handle an unexpected rush of people. HCCB agreed and sent two large buses and the personnel to support the amount of Tehachapi residents who came out to roll up a sleeve and help save a life," said Key Budge event coordinator.

More than 1,150 people from Tehachapi have donated blood potentially impacting as many as 3,450 lives just in Kern County from the Tehachapi blood drives in the city since 2019. The next Tehachapi Blood Drive will be Wednesday Nov. 2, at Tehachapi Vineyard Church, 502 E. Pinon St.