Press release:
As Hurricane Irma approaches Florida, The Blood Connection is urging all eligible donors to donate blood now, to help South Carolina prepare for the storm’s expected impact on the blood supply. TBC is also extending hours at all donation centers this weekend to make it easier for donors to donate, anticipating that scheduled drives will be cancelled early next week.
“A hurricane can disrupt the blood supply for days,” said Delisa English, President and CEO of The Blood Connection. “That’s why the time before the storm hits is critical for collecting donations that can sustain the blood supply during and after a storm.”
TBC wants to build up blood supplies at hospitals before Hurricane Irma reaches South Carolina. All blood types are needed, including platelet and plasma donors.
Donors can donate blood at any one of TBC’s donation centers at 435 Woodruff Road, Greenville; 341 Old Abbeville Highway, Greenwood; 1954 East Main Street, Easley; 1308 Sandifer Boulevard, Seneca; 270 North Grove Medical Park Drive, Spartanburg; and 825 Spartanburg Highway, Hendersonville.
To find a local blood drive, visit the bloodconnection schedule.
TBC’s mission is to ensure all hospital partners have the blood supplies needed for patients at any given time. Blood donors must be healthy, weigh at least 110 pounds, and be 17 years old or 16 with written parental consent. To ensure that hospital needs for blood are uninterrupted, TBC is requesting whole blood and platelet donations. All blood types are needed.
About The Blood Connection
Founded in 1979 in Greenville, SC, The Blood Connection (TBC) is the largest independently managed, non-profit community blood center in the region. It recruits donors and collects blood within an 8,390 square mile area of South Carolina, Georgia and North Carolina. In South Carolina, TBC supports Greenville, Spartanburg, Union, Pickens, Oconee, Greenwood, McCormick, Laurens, and Newberry Counties. In Georgia, TBC supports Stephens County.
In 2011, The Blood Connection expanded into Western North Carolina to serve Polk, Buncombe, Transylvania, McDowell, Macon, Franklin and Henderson Counties. TBC has now expanded to serve North Carolina’s central Piedmont counties including Wake, Durham and Orange Counties.
Licensed and regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, TBC collects blood from donors through bloodmobiles, portable field units, and fixed donation sites. It holds approximately twelve blood drives every day and collects over 120,000 units of blood, platelets and plasma each year to connect volunteer blood donors, hospitals, and patients needing life-saving transfusions. For more information, contact The Blood Connection or visit blood connection.
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