Press release from The Blood Connection of Hendersonville:
The Blood Connection, Inc. (TBC) will formally welcome the public to its new blood donation center in Hendersonville this month. Located in the Brooklyn Village Shopping Center, the center will hold a grand opening the week of April 28 – May 2. TBC invites the public to join community leaders and dignitaries in an effort to create awareness about the vital need for blood donations that will ensure an adequate supply is available, when and where it’s needed. The donation center is located across from Kelsey’s at 825 Spartanburg Highway in Hendersonville, NC.
“The Hendersonville Donation Center gives local residents a more convenient option for donating blood,” said TBC President and CEO Delisa English. “Until now, many blood donors have only been able to donate on blood mobiles, or they may have traveled to Asheville. We hope the event will encourage current and new donors to come into the center to see how easy it is to donate blood.”
The grand opening week will run from Monday, April 28, 2014 – Friday, May 2, 2014, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Live radio remotes, music and giveaways are planned, along with center tours and free food. Highlights include a historic ribbon cutting ceremony led by Mayor Barbara Volk with special guest appearances by Tiffany Erwin, former host of WLOS Spotlight Carolina. The ribbon cutting ceremony will take place Thursday, May 1, 2014, at 11:30 a.m.
The Blood Connection’s newest location represents a milestone for Western North Carolina. A fixed donation site offers local donors an option in a walkable shopping area close to home. The Hendersonville Donation Center opened its doors near the end of last year, expanding it capability to collect and distribute lifesaving blood products in Polk, Henderson, Rutherford and Buncombe Counties.
According to Donation Center Manager Carl Sly, all blood donations are vitally needed for patients. “Patients receiving organ transplants, cancer therapies and support for sickle cell anemia all depend on lifesaving transfusions,” said Sly. “Blood is also critical to the survival of premature babies and patients undergoing heart or joint replacement surgery, and it plays a life-saving role in serious accidents and widespread tragedies like earthquakes and hurricanes.”
The Blood Connection of Hendersonville provides blood products to Pardee Hospital, Park Ridge Health, Rutherford Regional Health System, St. Luke’s Hospital and Charles George VA Medical Center. While blood is urgently needed every day to save lives in Western North Carolina, only about five percent of the eligible population donates. Surgery patients, accident victims, patients with cancer and newborn babies all count on the local blood supply. The Hendersonville Donation Center is asking the community to help it meet the daily needs of hospitals by coming in to donate blood. All blood donations are vitally needed, especially platelet donations.
Platelets are small blood components that help the clotting process, and they’re especially valuable for cancer patients. They can be donated every seven days through an automated process that collects blood and removes the platelets from whole blood. Then, remaining blood cells and plasma are returned to the donor. Before the Hendersonville Donation Center opened, donors had to drive to Asheville to donate platelets. Now, platelet donors are able to donate close to home.
Donors wanting to schedule an appointment can call 1-800-733-2767. The Hendersonville Donation Center is open weekly from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. On Saturday and Sunday, the center is open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
About The Blood Connection
Founded in 1979, The Blood Connection is the largest independently managed, non-profit community blood center in the region. It recruits donors and collects blood within a 7,790 square mile area including Northwestern South Carolina, Western North Carolina and Northeastern Georgia. South Carolina counties include Greenville, Spartanburg, Union, Cherokee, Pickens, Oconee, Greenwood, McCormick, Laurens, and Newberry. The Blood Connection also collects blood in Stephens County, Georgia, as well as Polk, Henderson, Rutherford, and Buncombe Counties in North Carolina. Licensed and regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, The Blood Connection collects blood from donors through bloodmobiles, portable field units, and fixed donation sites. The company 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 visitthebloodconnection.org.
When is a good time to come in and give blood?
Last gave at the Ballantyne Commons, Hendersonville, NC