(aired Weds 6/22/22)
Blood Assurance welcomed its first blood donor fifty years ago.
The nonprofit was formed by medical professionals and concerned citizens in 1972 when the Chattanooga area at that time faced an urgent need for blood collections.
Today, Blood Assurance runs 15 blood donation centers in Tennessee and Georgia, supplies blood for patients at more than 70 medical facilities in five states - and operates a fleet of bloodmobiles to collect blood each day from businesses, organizations and places of worship.
J.B. Gaskins is president and CEO of Blood Assurance.
Dr. Liz Culler is its chief medical officer.