2 blood drives being held for victims of gas explosions

SHREVEPORT, La. (KSLA) - In the past month, three gas explosions have occurred in the ArkLaTex. On Thursday, May 12, there will be two separate blood drives for the five men injured in those explosions.

The owner of Novus Glass and Tint is hosting a blood drive for Adam Purland and Clay Moock. The two men were badly injured in the gas explosion on Barksdale Airforce Base. The LifeShare bus will be at 9210 Wallace Lake Road from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m.

“To see the blessings of the people in our community to come out and say I’m going to sit here and I’m going to come out and donate and I’m going to let you stick a needle in my arm and drain my blood out for me to donate in order that somebody else has a chance at being healed or even life. That says a lot about our area,” said Dianna Smathers, regional director for Shreveport-Bossier LifeShare Centers.

This past Monday, three more men were injured in a gas explosion in Webster Parish. Reagan Hardaway, Chancey Hawk and Daniel Payne are currently recovering at the burn unit at Ochsner LSU Health in Shreveport.

Hardaway and Hawk remain in serious condition, while Payne is alert and communicating. Their drive will be held at the Minden Medical Center. It begins at 7 a.m.

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