Community

Sporting KC to host blood drive today at Children's Mercy Park

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Sporting Kansas City will host a blood drive with the Community Blood Center (CBC) from 12-6 p.m. this Friday Sept. 29 at Children's Mercy Park.

Community members can make an appointment for the blood drive online in advance and all registered donors will receive a free "I Bleed Sporting Blue" t-shirt as well as a free ticket to Sporting Kansas City II's home playoff match at 7 p.m. on Friday night at Rock Chalk Park in Lawrence, Kansas.

Sporting Kansas City and the Community Blood Center are longtime partners who have teamed up to host blood drives together for more than a decade dating back to 1998.

It only takes one hour to donate and a single donation can save multiple lives. Roughly one in seven hospital admissions require a blood transfusion. Those in need include: cancer patients, accident, burn, or trauma victims, newborn babies and their mothers, transplant recipients, surgery patients, chronically transfused patients suffering from sickle cell disease or thalassemia, and many more.

CBC has announced a blood emergency following a summer of low donor turnout. Contributing to the shortage are the recent Labor Day holiday, back-to-school activities and a prolonged 50% decrease in youth and first-time donors.

The region’s blood supply is well below the optimal 5-7 days and while all blood types are needed, types O+, O-, B-, and platelets are critically low. Blood donors can give every 56 days, and platelet donors can give twice per month. To view current eligibility guidelines, visit savealifenow.org or call 800.688.0900.

About Community Blood Center of Greater Kansas City (CBC)
Founded in 1958, Community Blood Center (CBC) provides over 90% of the blood used by hospitals throughout the Greater Kansas City metropolitan area, as well as eastern Kansas and western Missouri. CBC provides nearly 200,000 blood products each year to over 60 area hospitals and relies on volunteer donors each day to meet the need for lifesaving gifts of blood. CBC operates 365/24/7 to deliver safe, high quality products to meet transfusion needs for routine care and emergencies. CBC is a Division of New York Blood Center, Inc. (a family of operating Divisions known as New York Blood Center Enterprises). For more information, visit savealifenow.org. Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter , Instagram, and LinkedIn.