Blood Assurance is honoring Tennessee music icon Dolly Parton with a special “9 to 5” blood donation promotion Friday, Sept. 25, also known as "9/25".
Donors who give blood at a Blood Assurance donation center or mobile blood drive on Friday will receive an exclusive, one-day-only T-shirt while supplies last.
The shirt features a quote from Parton: “We can’t save the world, but we can save the world we’re living in.”
Parton shared those words during a 2020 interview while encouraging people to focus on kindness, goodwill, and making a difference in their own communities. Blood Assurance hopes Parton’s message will inspire donors to turn goodwill into action by giving blood and making an immediate difference for people in need.
Blood Assurance is a nonprofit and the primary supplier of blood and blood products to all the Chattanooga-area hospitals, so donations have a tremendous impact on local patients.
Blood Assurance now needs more than 600 donors every day to meet the needs of its partnering hospitals. Donors of all blood types are encouraged to participate.
Appointments are encouraged but not required. To schedule a donation, visit bloodassurance.org/schedule, call 800-962-0628, or text BAGIVE to 999777.
Donor eligibility: Donors must be at least 17 years old, or 16 with parental consent, weigh at least 110 pounds, and be in generally good health. Donors should eat an iron-rich meal, drink plenty of fluids, avoid caffeine before donating, and bring a photo ID.