By Elizabeth Fite
Chattanooga Times Free Press
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Most people leave a blood drive with a T-shirt, a cookie or a gift card. But at a Chattanooga blood drive this weekend, they’ll have the option to gather valuable information about their health instead.
Organizers are offering donors a free laboratory panel of their choice, including general wellness, cholesterol, thyroid, hormone, nutrient and heart health panels. The drive aims to boost blood collection during what emergency responders call the “100 Deadliest Days of Summer,” a period when traumatic injuries typically spike and blood donations fall.
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The Scenic City Saves Lives Community Blood Drive is 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Miller Park and hosted by Chattanooga -based Blood Assurance, Hamilton County EMS and local public safety agencies.
The event comes just weeks after Hamilton County EMS launched a prehospital whole blood program — a significant milestone in local emergency care in the region — allowing specially trained paramedics to transfuse whole blood to patients with life-threatening injuries while en route to the hospital. Less than 2% of ground ambulances nationwide carry whole blood, according to the American Red Cross. County EMS recently administered its first unit in the field to a critically injured trauma patient.
“Whole blood” is simply the blood that flows through your veins, according to the American Red Cross. It contains red cells, white cells, and platelets, suspended in plasma.
Donors who participate Saturday will receive either a $25 e-gift card or, if they register in advance through Goodlabs.com, a complimentary laboratory panel that can otherwise cost hundreds of dollars out of pocket.
“Our general panel, that’s kind of everything a physician would normally order during your annual physical,” Goodlabs founder and CEO Grant Brewster said by phone. “You can order your hormones, your information about your heart health, the nutrient panel.”
For Brewster, the idea behind Goodlabs grew out of his own medical experience roughly two years ago. At age 25, a routine blood test led to a diagnosis of hereditary hemochromatosis, a genetic disorder that causes the body to accumulate too much iron. Treatment required frequent blood donations, leaving him wondering why patients couldn’t receive useful health information from blood that was already being drawn.
The company’s goal is to start making blood donation part of people’s health routines, Brewster said.
“It’s important for us to have a constant supply of blood, and it gets really bad in the summer months, because school is out, people are on vacation,” he said, noting that a single blood donation can go on to help up to three people.
“You get to save a bunch of people’s lives, and then at the same time, get some information that could potentially save your own life or at least help you make a healthier journey,” Brewster said.
The tests are processed through the same clinical laboratories physicians commonly use, he said. Results are typically available within three to five business days through the Goodlabs online dashboard, which also offers educational resources and care navigation.
Blood Assurance began partnering with Goodlabs in May as another way to incentivize donation. Caitlin Stanley, Blood Assurance marketing director, said staff at the regional blood center had been looking for ways to up donation rates among young people, who give blood significantly less than older generations.
So far, 369 people at one location have donated through the initiative, she said.
“Of those donors, 306 were under the age of 40 — so 83% of them, which is pretty neat,” Stanley said.
For those who prefer a gift card over a lab panel, walk-ins are accepted, but Stanley said it’s recommended to schedule an appointment at bloodassurance.org/scenic to reduce wait time.
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