Editor's note: This story was updated at 10 a.m. July 19 with the correct date of the blood drive in League City.

Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center is hosting a blood drive on Thursday, July 21, at 400 W. Walker St., next to the Walker Street pool. Phlebotomists will be taking blood from 10 a.m to 4 p.m.

Residents must be 17 years old or older to donate blood. Those who are 16 years old can donate if they have parental consent, said Theresa Pina, Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center vice president of operations. There is no maximum age to donate.

“You have to be in general good health,” she said. “There are some medications that could [stop you from donating] depending on what you're taking, how long you're taking it, what you're taking it for. We have a whole list of those on our website, and they get updated by the FDA on a pretty regular basis.”

Pina suggested hydrating and eating before and after donating your blood to avoid dizziness and other side effects.

Blood donations are very important to all types of patients, she said.

“There is no substitute for blood, and it has to come from one person and be given to another,” Pina said. “We need the community to donate blood so that patients in our local hospitals have the blood when they need it."

Residents can sign up for the blood drive here. Phlebotomists will also be taking blood at 1601 League City Parkway in United Methodist Church on July 31, and at 300 W. Walker St. on Aug. 16.