Blood Assurance will give $40 e-gift cards to donors who give between Aug. 31 and Sept. 8 as it works to boost the blood supply for Chattanooga-area hospitals ahead of Labor Day weekend.
Blood centers across the country have struggled this summer to collect enough blood to keep hospitals supplied. Blood Assurance has spent several weeks with less than a two-day supply available. The nonprofit aims to maintain at least a three-day supply to meet hospital needs.
The promotion launches just before National Preparedness Month, a nationwide reminder that communities must be ready before an emergency occurs. For Blood Assurance, that preparation includes making sure local hospitals have blood available for patients when unexpected injuries and other urgent needs arise.
Labor Day weekend brings more travelers to the roads and can lead to an increase in crashes and injuries. Blood needed to treat a crash victim, support an emergency surgery, or respond to another trauma must already be collected, tested, and on a hospital shelf before the patient arrives.
“When someone you love arrives at a hospital after a crash, you expect the blood they need to be there,” said Garry Allison, senior vice president of operations for Blood Assurance. “Hospitals cannot wait for someone to donate after an emergency happens. We must collect and test that blood in advance, and maintaining that supply takes people donating every day.”
In addition to the gift card, donors who give from Sept. 1-8 will also receive a commemorative 9/11 t-shirt.
Blood Assurance serves as a primary blood supplier for every hospital in the Chattanooga area. Those hospitals rely on Blood Assurance for the vast majority of the blood, plasma, and platelets they transfuse.
Across its service area, Blood Assurance needs more than 540 donors each day to help meet patient needs.
To schedule a donation or find a location, visit bloodassurance.org or call 800-962-0628.
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.