Blood Assurance, the non-profit regional blood center, announced plans to host Chattanooga’s largest one-day blood drive on March 31.

The event, known as Bloodanooga, will be held directly across from the downtown location of Blood Assurance at the UTC McKenzie Arena.

The goal of Bloodanooga is to collect 1600 units of blood in 16 hours. Donors can give blood between 8 a.m. and midnight.

Bloodanooga was created to serve as a community-wide effort in maintaining a consistent blood supply for area hospitals. Currently, less than 10 percent of all eligible donors in the United States actually give blood.

Typically, regional blood centers across the country struggle to maintain a two-day supply. Since there is no substitute for human blood, hospitals rely on regional blood centers like Blood Assurance to supply all blood products needed by patients. It is estimated that one out of every eleven patients entering a hospital will need blood products.

“We want this to be a celebration of the act of giving blood, not only by boosting the local blood supply, but by setting a precedent for other communities to follow,” said Bonnie Phillips, marketing and special events coordinator for Blood Assurance.

Although Blood Assurance hosts blood drives throughout the area, this will be the first community-wide event hosted by the organization. The largest amount of blood collected by Blood Assurance occurred in 2001 after the September 11 terrorist attacks, when 2,144 units of blood were collected between September 11 and September 13.

“It’s amazing what this community can do when there’s a need. By hosting this event, we want people to feel a sense of pride in knowing that their donation truly makes a difference and that we always need blood, no matter the circumstances,” said Phillips.

Online appointments can be made by visiting www.bloodanooga.org. All other Blood Assurance locations will be closed on March 31 since all Blood Assurance personnel will be working at the event.

Volunteers are also needed for Bloodanooga. For more information about volunteering, please contact Frankie Garvich at 423-752-5911 or by email at frankiegarvich@bloodassurance.org.

For more information about Bloodanooga, please contact Bonnie Philips at 423-752-8465 or by email at blm@bloodassurance.org.

Blood Assurance is a non-profit regional blood center founded in 1972 in Chattanooga, TN. As the only supplier of blood products for 47 area healthcare facilities, Blood Assurance is committed to maintaining a safe and adequate supply of blood for all patients in need. To sufficiently meet the demands of our hospitals, Blood Assurance must collect 101,000 units of blood each year. As the only community blood center, all donations collected from our donors remain in the immediate area to serve the needs of local patients.