Community leaders join Versiti Blood Center of Indiana for statewide blood donation telethon

INDIANAPOLIS - Feb. 4, 2020 - PRLog -- Community leaders will join Versiti Blood Center of Indiana on Feb. 5 for a first-ever telethon to encourage blood donations throughout the state.

Versiti will transform part of its Indianapolis donor center at 3450 N. Meridian St., into a telethon phone bank and encourage donors to call and pledge three lifesaving blood donations. Versiti and community leaders will encourage Hoosiers to call the phone bank at 317-916-5150, schedule one appointment in February and two additional appointments for the year ahead.

The goal is to schedule 1,000 appointments Feb. 5 to ensure an adequate blood supply for the coming days and weeks.

Winter presents an especially difficult time for donations, with seasonal illness and inclement weather contributing to a severe decline. Currently, O positive and O negative blood types are in high need.

As champions of the community, area leaders are joining Versiti throughout the day to relay the importance of blood donation to the well-being of Hoosiers, including representatives from Riley Hospital for Children and IU Health, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, Eskenazi Health, Roche Diagnostic, Butler University, Indianapolis Fire Department, Indiana Sports Corp., Indianapolis Colts, Indianapolis Indians, Fishers Police and Fire departments and Community Health Network.

Interviews from the telethon will be livestreamed on Versiti's Facebook page throughout the day @VersitiBloodCenterofIndiana.

Donating blood takes about an hour. Anyone age 17 or older in good health who meets eligibility requirements is encouraged to give. Parental consent is required for donors age 16 to donate blood. Donors should bring a photo ID that includes their birth date.

Appointments are encouraged at any of Versiti's seven donor centers in Indiana and at any local community blood drive. But walk-ins are always welcome. To schedule an appointment to donate blood, call 317-916-5150 or visit Versiti online at https://donate.indiana.versiti.org.

More than 90,000 Indiana residents each year give blood through Versiti Blood Center of Indiana, formerly Indiana Blood Center, a non-profit organization founded in 1952 that operates blood donation centers in Indianapolis, Fishers, Carmel, Greenwood, Lafayette, Terre Haute and Highland. The center also operates thousands of mobile and community blood drives each year throughout the state. Versiti provides a continuous and safe supply of blood and biological services to more than 80 Indiana hospitals and their patients and beyond.