Skip to content

BLOOD ASSURANCE NEEDS DONORS TO PREPARE FOR HIGH HOLIDAY USAGE

(Rome) Nonprofit regional blood center, Blood Assurance, is asking community members to give blood this holiday week to prepare for high usage the Fourth of July brings. Blood banks all over the nation are experiencing shortages and Blood Assurance wants to ensure that does not happen in this area. Blood Assurance needs 400 donors a day to supply area hospitals with blood and blood products.

“This is always a particularly rough week for blood centers all over the country,” said Jay Baumgartner, executive director of community relations at Blood Assurance, “We are counting on members in our community to come out and give for all local patients in need.”

Donations have been down over the summer, and holidays always present a challenge in blood collection. Less people donate around holidays and usage is always higher due to more traffic being on the road and more accidents occurring. Blood can’t be manufactured and the only blood given to patients in need comes from volunteer blood donors. That is why Blood Assurance is asking everyone who can to please donate blood this coming holiday week for local patients in need.

All donors who give blood July 1 through July 5 will receive a beach towel or a pair of flip flops and all donors over 18 will be entered to win four tickets to Dollywood Splash Country. Blood Assurance will be open regular hours of the Fourth of July.

 

To be eligible to donate blood, you must be at least 18 years old (16 and 17 years old with parental consent), weigh 110 pounds or more and be in good health. Donors are asked to drink plenty of fluids — avoiding caffeine — and eat a meal that is rich in iron prior to donating. To schedule an appointment at a donor center or blood drive near you, please visit www.bloodassurance.org, call 800-962-0628 or text ‘BAGIVE‘ to 999777.

About Blood Assurance
Blood Assurance is a nonprofit, full-service regional blood center serving more than 50 counties and 70 health care facilities in Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Virginia and North Carolina. Founded in 1972 as a joint effort of the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Medical Society, the Chattanooga Area Hospital Council and the Chattanooga Jaycees, the mission of Blood Assurance is to provide a safe and adequate supply of blood and blood components to every area patient in need.

Leave a Comment