Roane State Community College

October 20, 2021

Students in one of Roane State’s Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) cohorts have teamed up with MEDIC Regional Blood Center to host a blood drive at the college’s Knox County Center for Health Sciences.

The event will be held on Wednesday, October 27, 2021. MEDIC’s mobile blood donation center will be set up in the campus parking lot from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m ET.

MEDIC reports that there is a critical need for O Positive and O Negative blood right now, so drives like this one are helping boost the local supply.

“Our EMT students see first-hand how donated blood can save lives,” explained Jason Fox, an EMS adjunct faculty member at Roane State. “They saw the need in our local community and wanted to do what they could to help. We hope everyone who is eligible to donate can come out on Wednesday and help us make a difference.”

Donation appointments are available at medicblood.org by selecting the “Find a Mobile Drive” option under the Donate tab. Users should search for Knox County and then select the Roane State event to choose their appointment time. Text message reminders are available. Walk-ins are also welcome at the event.

MEDIC advises donors to drink plenty of water and eat a healthy meal before donating blood. You should not donate if you do not feel well.

Donors should bring photo identification with them to the site as well as a list of any current medications. Additional information on blood donor eligibility is available online at medicblood.org/eligibility.

As a thank you, all donors will receive a t-shirt, a Texas Roadhouse coupon and an automatic entry for a chance to win free admission to Ripley’s Haunted Adventure.

Roane State’s Knox County Center for Health Sciences is located at 132 Hayfield Road in Knoxville. For more information, the campus can be reached by phone at (865) 539-6904.