The Kentucky Blood Center has a new incentive to get people to come out and donate blood this summer. Now until July 5th anyone who donates at any of the KBC centers will receive two free movie tickets.
Donors are urgently needed because hospitals are facing increased numbers of transfusions. KBC officials are concerned the summer holidays could put a strain on the blood supply that serves more than 70 Kentucky hospitals.
The KBC needs all blood types but Director of Media and Branding, Eric Lindsey, said the center has seen a shortage of O- and A- blood.
“We’ve had several days where we’ve been in critical supply for both of those blood types. When we say critical supply that means sometimes we’re looking at only a day’s supply, even a half a day’s supply of blood,” Lindsey said. “Which is frightening to think about when you think about the 70 plus hospitals we serve and only having about half a day’s supply. We’re really in need of those.”
Lindsey said the process takes less than an hour and all blood donated at Kentucky Blood Center stays local. Donors must be at least 17 years old. 16-year-olds can donate but they must have parental consent in the form of a signed a permission slip.
“I was just looking at a blood profile this morning. We’re in critical supply for B negative and low supply for B positive,” said Lindsey.
Lindsey said the two free movie tickets are a thank you to people who come out and donate during a busy time of the year.
“The motivation behind people coming in is to save lives. It’s just an extra thank you from us to reward folks for their time and generosity. We’ll give each donor these two free movies passes just depending on what the center is. We’ll determine if it’s Cinemark or some other theater. If it's in Pikeville, that’ll kind of vary,” said Lindsey.
More information and permission slips for 16-year-old donors can be found at donor centers or online at https://kybloodcenter.org/