American Red Cross Blood Drive

The KFC Yum! Center and the American Red Cross are partnering to host a blood drive on Thursday, October 1st from 11 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville.

The blood drive offers added appointment slots and expanded capacity to ensure ample opportunities for donors to give. Donating blood is a safe process, and  American Red Cross employees are following thorough safety protocols to help prevent the spread of any type of disease or infection. Over the past month, out of an abundance of caution, the Red Cross has put additional precautions in place at blood drives to further protect the health and safety of blood donors. Plus, all blood, platelet, and plasma donations will be tested for COVID-19 antibodies. Donors can expect to receive the results of their antibody test within 7 to 10 days of their donation through the Blood Donor App or donor portal at RedCrossBlood.org.

September is also National Sickle Cell Awareness Month. Did you know regular blood transfusions are often a critical treatment for sickle cell disease?

• Sickle cell disease is the most common inherited blood disorder in the U.S. About 100,000 people of various racial and ethnic backgrounds are living with sickle cell disease, most of whom are of African or Latino descent.
• Sickle cell disease causes red blood cells to be hard and crescent-shaped instead of soft and round. As a result, blood has difficulty flowing smoothly and carrying oxygen to the rest of the body, which may lead to severe pain, tissue and organ damage, acute anemia, and even strokes.
• Blood transfusion helps patients by increasing the number of normal red blood cells in the body, helping to deliver oxygen throughout the body, and unblock blood vessels.
• A single sickle cell patient can require multiple blood transfusions per year throughout their lifetime to treat complications from sickle cell disease.
• People who only carry the sickle cell trait may be eligible to donate blood.
• A diverse blood supply is important to help meet the needs of those battling sickle cell disease.

Donors are asked to make an appointment before showing up to donate in order to manage the flow of donors appropriately in alignment with social distancing practices.