WASHINGTON D.C. – The Blood Bank of Delmarva (BBD) will return to the District of Columbia to host lifesaving blood drives for the second straight year. BBD will hold blood drives with the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives on September 28 and September 29, respectively. Last year, BBD partnered with the Student Leadership Council and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to hold a blood drive in August. This year, the Senate and House blood drives aim to collect 80 units each, totaling 160 units collected on Capitol Hill.
The first blood drive is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, September 28 at the United States Senate Hart Office Building, 120 Constitution Ave NE, Senate Room 902, Washington, DC 20002. Donors can sign up here. The second blood drive is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, September 29 at the United States House of Representatives, 45 Independence Ave SW, Gold Room, Washington, DC 20515. Donors can sign up here.
“The Blood Bank of Delmarva and blood centers across the U.S. need more donors. According to America’s Blood Centers, 62 percent of the U.S. population is eligible to donate blood, but only 3 percent do,” said Nicole Pineault, Director of Donor Resources at Blood Bank of Delmarva. “It is our hope that this blood drive will inspire our elected officials to host blood drives in their local districts. Members of Congress serve the people, and donating blood is a powerful way to serve.”
“It takes individuals willing to donate their time and a pint of blood to help hospital patients, and it also takes partners to help us fulfill that mission,” said BBD Vice President Emily Cunningham. “We thank Congress for helping to raise awareness about the dire need for blood locally and nationally.”
It takes 350 donors a day to keep BBD’s inventory stocked and at optimal levels for 19 hospitals in Delmarva and six more hospitals in the Baltimore-Washington area. Visit DelmarvaBlood.org to schedule an appointment to donate, or call 1-888-8-BLOOD-8.