Blood Assurance, the non-profit regional blood center, will host Chattanooga’s largest one-day community blood drive on Tuesday, March 30.
Bloodanooga will be held directly across from the downtown location of Blood Assurance at the UTC McKenzie Arena.
The goal of Bloodanooga is to collect 1000 units of blood in one day. Donors can give blood between 11 a.m. and 10 p.m.
Bloodanooga was created to serve as a community-wide effort in maintaining a consistent blood supply for area hospitals. Currently, less than 10 percent of all eligible donors in the United States actually give blood.
Volunteer blood donations, not paid blood collections, are the only source of blood products used for patient transfusion. Blood Assurance is the only provider of blood products for Chattanooga’s hospitals.
“This is a fun event and we want residents to realize that the act of giving blood can be a fun, enjoyable experience,” said Linda Hisey, vice-president of marketing and public relations.
The event also features food donated by area restaurants and entertainment provided by local musicians.
In 2009, more than 1,000 residents participated in the first annual Bloodanooga, either by donating blood or volunteering at the event. The blood donations collected at Bloodanooga potentially impacted more than 2,000 area patients in need of life-saving blood transfusions.
For more information about Bloodanooga, or to make an appointment, please visit www.bloodanooga.org.
