CONCORD ó With funding from The Duke Endowment, the Community Blood Center of the Carolinas (CBCC) will be buying two new bloodmobiles to increase mobile blood collections.
The grant to Carolinas Medical Center-Northeast will benefit 14 hospitals served by CBCC. The project will total $504,871 over the next two years.
“We are extremely grateful to The Duke Endowment for providing this valuable community asset,” said Martin Grable, President and CEO of the CBCC.
“These new bloodmobiles will help increase our local blood collection capacity to better meet the growing demand for blood and blood products in our region. The fact that 14 area hospitals would jointly make this request to The Duke Endowment on our behalf says a great deal about their commitment to healthcare and the well-being of their patients.”
In the greater Charlotte region, the CBCC provides more than 90 percent of the blood supply, including red blood cells, platelets and plasma to 14 area hospitals which serve residents in 11 North Carolina and three South Carolina counties. The hospitals belong to four area systems including Carolinas HealthCare System, Gaston Memorial Hospital, Piedmont Medical Center and Presbyterian Healthcare.
Less than 6 percent of the CBCC’s whole blood collections are completed at the donation center. More than 17 percent of all blood is collected on the single bus currently in use.
The amount of blood collected and provided to participating hospitals is expected to increase by more than 500 units per month through the addition of two new bloodmobiles. That will bring the annual total to nearly 12,000.
Each new bloodmobile will accommodate four or five donors at once. Arrival of the first of the new vehicles is expected by November.
The Duke Endowment, in Charlotte, N.C., seeks to fulfill the legacy of James B. Duke by enriching lives and communities in the Carolinas through higher education, health care, rural churches and children’s services. With assets of over $3 billion, the Endowment has awarded more than $2.4 billion in grants since its inception in 1924.