Local citizens in Pahrump who are looking to give blood for the victims of Sunday’s mass shooting at an outdoor country music concert near the Mandalay Bay hotel might have to travel to Las Vegas to help.
Many of the local medical facilities aren’t yet set up to draw blood to assist. More than 500 attendees were injured during the Route 91 Harvest Festival on Oct. 1. and as of Monday evening, 58 were confirmed dead in what is the nation’s deadliest mass shooting in modern history.
“At the moment, we are trying to put together a blood drive out here in Pahrump for the victims in Las Vegas,” said Assemblyman James Oscarson, who is also the director of community relations at Desert View Hospital. “It will take a while until the Red Cross can come out here because they are busy taking blood in Las Vegas. If you want to give blood now, you have to go to Las Vegas to do it.”
Where and when to give blood
Red Cross of Southern Nevada will be holding a blood drive on Thursday at Mercedes of Henderson at 925 Auto Show Drive from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. On Friday, Red Cross will hold a drive from 10 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. at its 1771 E. Flamingo Road location.
Check redcrossblood.org for more locations and times.
Locals can also visit a United Blood Services station. The closest location to Pahrump is at 6930 W. Charleston Blvd., near Rainbow Boulevard. That location can start taking appointments as early as 7 a.m., if space is available. Other Las Vegas locations for United Blood Services are 601 Whitney Ranch Drive, Suite 20.
The lines around the Charleston Red Cross complex were crowded on Monday afternoon
“I was there early in the morning,” Ariel Perrenot, a Las Vegas resident said. “The lines were six to eight hours long to give blood and so I decided to help with the volunteers and handed out water. I had to do something for our city is hurting and I couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.”
For other donation center information and blood drives by United Blood Services, check bloodhero.com.
According to a spokesman from United Blood Services on Monday afternoon, many of those drives and blood donation centers are already full. The spokesperson suggested making an appointment later in the week or early next week, as supplies could start to diminish in the coming week.
For those who can’t travel, United Blood Services is having a blood drive on Oct. 20 from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Pahrump Community Library meeting room at 701 East St.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Contact reporter Jeffrey Meehan at jmeehan@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @pvtimes