Annual blood drive in honor of late Manhattan resident, committed blood donor to be held next week

The American Red Cross will be hosting its 14th annual Keep the Drive Alive blood drive this Thursday and Friday in memory of the late Kevin Coffey who was a Manhattan resident and committed blood donor during his life.

The event will be held at St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Manhattan from noon to 6 p.m. on Thursday November 16th and from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday November 17th.

Kevin’s mother, Maxine Coffey, spoke about the blood drive which is also held every October in Philadelphia at Temple University where Kevin attended college.

Coffey says Kevin had an O negative blood type, which can be donated to anyone who needs blood and that the goal of the drive is to carry on his legacy as Kevin was always willing to donate blood whenever he could.

The Manhattan drive has been known to be the largest two-day blood drive in the state of Kansas. To date, over 4,700 pints of blood have been donated in Kevin’s memory.