By Corrina Taylor, BubbleLife Intern

People crowded into the mobile blood bus, the extra seats were already filled and the check-in clipboard was full of names. Outside of CVS at the intersection of W. Round Grove Rd. and S. Valley Parkway, the bus is in perfect position to grab the attention of people passing by.

Owner of Bahama Buck’s Brent Daniels scheduled the blood drive for May 4, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. with a total of 18 slots open for the public to donate. Eager residents scheduled ahead of time online by emailing or sending a message through Facebook.

During the event, numerous people wanted to walk in and give blood, putting the total number of possible donors to 33. However, it was too busy to get the blood from all of them, so only 23 people were able to donate.

Part of the reason the blood drive got so much attention was due to the advertising and gift bags from Daniels. Each person who donated blood got four coupons for free snows and two free smoothies from Bahama Buck’s, a discount coupon for a Kwik Kar wash, a coupon booklet for Tom Thumb and a goody packet from Walgreens with bandages, lip balm and more.

“I know the managers of all the stores and asked if they would be willing to participate,” Daniels said. “Walgreens was very helpful by letting us use their parking lot. I hoped that by using their spot we would have a chance of walk-ins to see the bus.”

Of all the drives Daniels has hosted, Bahama Buck’s first drive was very successful. For the size of the restaurant and the amount of staff, it was incredible to get 23 final units of blood.

For those eager to donate, there are always blood drives happening around the area. Information can be found on Carter BloodCare’s website. Daniels is also hoping to have an annual or semi-annual blood drive at Bahama Buck’s since the first one was such a success.

“Each donation can save up to three lives, and blood donors can give five or six times a year, so basically each individual can save up to 15 lives a year,” Daniels said.