Hoosiers encouraged to pledge 3 lifesaving blood donations on Feb. 5 to avert winter shortage
Community leaders will join Versiti Blood Center of Indiana on Wednesday, Feb. 5, for a first-ever telethon to encourage blood donation.
Versiti will transform part of its Indianapolis donor center at 3450 N. Meridian St., into a telethon phone bank and encourage donors to call and pledge 3 lifesaving blood donations. Versiti and community leaders are asking Hoosiers to call the phone bank at 317-916-5150, schedule one appointment in February and two additional for the year ahead. The goal is to schedule 1,000 appointments on Feb. 5 to ensure a sufficient blood supply for the coming days and weeks.
Winter presents an especially difficult time for blood donations,with seasonal illness and inclement weather contributing to a severe drop. Currently, O positive and O negative blood types are in high need.
As champions of the community, area leaders are volunteering their time at the telethon location to speak to the impact of blood donation on the community and why it’s important for Hoosiers to give back and help patients in need.
- Dr. Kent Robertson
Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health - Allen Pekarek
EMS Division Chief, Indianapolis Fire Department - Chief Randal Taylor
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department - Lee Ann Blue
Chief Nursing officer & Executive Vice President of Patient Care Services, Eskenazi Health - Bryan Mills
President & CEO, Community Health Network - Randy Lewandowski
President and General Manager, Indianapolis Indians - Butler University spokesman Evan Kraus and bulldog mascot Butler Blue III
Versiti Blood Center of Indiana is the sole provider of blood products to more than 80 hospitals in the state. The organization relies on the generosity of the community to ensure area hospitals have the blood products they need to save lives each and every day. To pledge three blood donations on Feb. 5, call
317-916-5150.
Facebook livestream of telethon
Community members across the state can view interviews from the telethon on Versiti’s Facebook page @VersitiBloodCenterofIndiana. Versiti will livestream intermittent interviews with community leaders on Facebook throughout the morning on Feb. 5.
ABOUT INDIANA BLOOD CENTER
Founded in 1952, Versiti Blood Center of Indiana, formerly Indiana Blood Center, is a non-profit organization and vital community resource dedicated to providing a continuous, safe and adequate supply of blood components and biological services to nearly 80 Indiana hospitals and their patients and beyond. More than 90,000 Hoosiers donate life-saving blood each year. For more, visit versiti.org/Indiana.
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