With more than 617 units of blood collected at this year’s Bloodanooga blood drive, the UTC community would be able to fulfill the needs of the entire Chattanooga community for a day and a half.
“This event was a huge success. Last year, we collected 437 units, and this year we saw a tremendous increase,” Craig Glass, Business Development Director at Blood Assurance, said.
Bloodanooga is one of the area’s largest blood drives. Sponsored by Blood Assurance, Mocs Football, UTC Student Development, and the UTC Chancellor’s Office, the two-day drive was held in the University Center on UTC’s campus.
“Each donation saves three lives. With all the donations we collected, the drive at UTC will benefit up more than 800 local patients in need of blood transfusions,” Glass said.
Kimberly Washington, a UTC student, was quick to sign up to give blood during Bloodanooga.
“There’s a significant need out there. A lot more people need blood than you think they do,” she said.
Visitors were also able join the Be The Match Registry, the world’s largest hematopoietic cell registry pairing stem cell donors with patients suffering from blood cancers. More than 130 potential donors were added to the national marrow registry on the first day of Bloodanooga.
UTC student Pockett Lankford signed up for the registry after hearing that more minority donors were needed.
“If there’s an opportunity to help, everyone should take it,” he said.
Jacob Huesman, UTC football player and son of coach Russ Huesman, not only signed up for the registry, but also convinced several classmates and friends to get involved too.
“The fact you could save someone’s life really appealed to me. I think it’s a great thing for everyone to be involved in,” he said.
