KC Charland shines as our new blood drive coordinator for the Society at Chattacon in Cahattanooga, Tennessee.  Blood Assurance, the service provider she chose, says, “We were very pleased with the drive overall, and the willingness of the donors to share this life saving gift. The efforts of ChattaCon have always been greatly appreciated and their support of the community blood program will go a long way toward replenishing blood supplies and ultimately saving lives. In addition, we very much appreciate your efforts during this crucial time. You may be interested to know that 17 donors registered, 1 donor was deferred and 18 units were collected!  We also registered 7 first time donors! Again, thank you for your contribution and ongoing support of this important community program. I look forward to working with you again on an upcoming blood drive.”

January is predictably a short month for the national blood supply, so every donation is critical needed.  From these numbers, it seems a double red cell apheresis machine was available and used by two donors.  This is an increasingly preferred alternative, so look into it for your drives.  Note also the high proportion of first time donors, a useful point to stress when working with a new service provider.  Additional time and staff attention are typically appropriate for first timers to have an enjoyable experience, conducive to them becoming life long donors. Thank you, KC and Chattacon!