Knoxville Hospital and Clinics (KHC) and LifeServe Blood Center have announced a new partnership making LifeServe Blood Center the exclusive supplier of all blood and blood products to the hospital.

LifeServe hosts blood drives only in communities where the blood will be used locally, benefiting area hospitals. This new partnership ensures that the residents and community members of Marion County have the opportunity to make a direct impact by donating blood that will stay within their community. The demand for blood surges during the summer months and is fueled by increased emergencies and accidents. It is impossible to predict who will need blood and when, but donors can know that their donations to LifeServe Blood Center will directly benefit someone in need within their community. Mikayla Niemeier with Lifeserve says these blood products are crucial.

“People don’t think about it until the moment that someone they know needs it. At that point it takes a process to get the blood to the hospital. That is why we need donors coming in. Blood has an expiration date too which I think people don’t realize. Red blood cells expire after 42 days so it’s really important that we have people consistently donating every two months.” 

KHC and LifeServe Blood Center are urging the community to boost the blood supply for local patients on Thursday, August 29, between 1 – 5 p.m. at KHC. Hear more from Niemeier and staff at KHC about this partnership on an upcoming Let’s Talk Knoxville.