MEDIC Regional Blood Center is set to compete against Kentucky Blood Center

The blood centers compete to see which can collect the most blood products in five days.

On Nov. 6, MEDIC will begin using its new Donor Health Questionnaire based on the most recent FDA guidelines that will include changes for travel-related deferrals, sexual contact deferrals, and hepatitis deferrals.

“November is an exciting time for MEDIC,” said Kristy Altman, Vice President of Communications and PR. “We’ve been working on the change to the DHQ since January and those changes will open eligibility to additional donors while maintaining the safety of the blood products. These changes come directly before our Orange and Blue competition and during a time when donations will wane due to the holidays.”

MEDIC Regional Blood Center is an independent nonprofit community blood center. MEDIC is the primary blood product provider for 26 hospitals in 23 counties in East Tennessee and Southeastern Kentucky. This includes Blount Memorial Hospital, Covenant Health System, East TN Children’s Hospital, Tennova, and the University of Tennessee Medical Center locations.

Appointments for donations are preferred, but walk-in donors are welcome. Donors can call 865-524-3074 to schedule their appointment or visit medicblood.org/donate or download the new MEDIC donor app to search for a drive closest to them and schedule their appointment. For more information on MEDIC Regional Blood Center, please visit our website at www.medicblood.org or contact Vice President of Communications Kristy Altman at [email protected] or by phone at 865-805-2008.