Corbin location will provide convenient location for Tri-County donors
CORBIN, Ky. – Answering the call to provide convenience and easier access to donors eager to save lives, Kentucky Blood Center is opening two donor center locations this summer, starting Monday in the Tri-County area (Corbin). Another donor center will also open in Frankfort in early July.
The Tri-County Donor Center is located at 1454 W. Cumberland Gap Pkwy., in the Union Plaza next to Transamerica and Kentucky Farm Bureau Insurance.
Donors can make appointments online now for the Tri-County location at kybloodcenter.org or by calling 800.775.2522. Walk-ins are welcome, but appointments are preferred.
In addition to KBC’s two donor centers in Lexington (Beaumont and Andover), two in Louisville (Middletown and Hillview), Somerset, and Pikeville, the new locations in Corbin and Frankfort will bring KBC to eight brick-and-mortar centers open to donors Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. by mid-summer.
In combination with Kentucky Blood Center’s nearly 2,000 mobile drives a year, KBC will be better equipped than ever to serve more than 70 medical facilities in the state and provide services for more than 90 Kentucky counties from Pikeville to Paducah. KBC is the largest independent, full-service, nonprofit blood center in Kentucky.
“We are excited to open new donor centers this summer to ensure a healthy blood supply for our local hospitals,” said Bill Reed, CEO of Kentucky Blood Center. “In an ever-changing world, we are not immune to adjustments. After two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen our donation percentages shift from a 70-30 mobile-center split to more of a 50-50 draw. There are several reasons for the change, but the important thing is that we meet the needs of our donors.”
The openings come at an important time. KBC and blood centers across the nation have been operating with a low supply throughout the pandemic, which is especially worrisome heading into a traditionally slow donation period on the calendar. Summer typically leads to a drop in donors when schools aren’t in session and many families are traveling.
KBC is also offering exciting promotional items this summer, headlined by the 2022 Summer Getaway Giveaway. All donors 18 and older who register now through Sept. 10 will have the chance to win a 2022 Toyota RAV4. Donors who get out early this summer and register now through July 4 at a KBC mobile blood drive or donor center will also be entered to win a five-night, six-day vacation package for two to the Excellence Oyster Bay in Montego Bay, Jamaica. The winner of the vacation package will be announced after July 4.
Each donation for the Summer Getaway Giveaway counts as an entry, meaning donors will have a higher chance to win one of the two summer prize packages the more they donate. Donors can give whole blood once every 56 days.
Blood donations help KBC supply blood for cancer treatments, premature births, car accidents, diseases, surgeries, and more. One donation can save up to three lives, and one in four people will need a transfusion at some point in their life.
Blood donors must be at least 17 years old (16 with parental consent), weigh at least 110 pounds, be in general good health, show a photo I.D., and meet additional requirements. Sixteen-year-old donors must have a signed parental permission slip, which can be found at kybloodcenter.org.
