One of the American Red Cross’ largest blood drives in the country recently announced its date for this summer.

The 33rd annual Carolina Blood Drive, held on the campus of UNC, is set to be held on Tuesday, June 8, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. The event, organized by the Red Cross and UNC’s Employee Forum, will once again be staged in the Dean E. Smith Center.

Since its establishment, the Red Cross reports the Carolina Blood Drive has potentially helped more than 100,000 patients who need blood transfusions during surgery, cancer treatments and other procedures. The event is used to help start the Red Cross’ summer blood collection, often a challenging time of the year to amass donations.

Jen DeNeal, who chairs the university’s blood drive planning committee, spoke to this need for blood in a release sharing the 2021 drive’s date.

“As people resume some of their favorite activities this summer, the Red Cross is reminding the public that the need for blood remains,” said DeNeal, who is also the UNC Associate Director of Ethics and Policy. “The Carolina Blood Drive can make it a summer full of life for patients in need.”

In the summer of 2020, the Chapel Hill-based blood drive became even more critical to the Red Cross. Amid the initial onset of COVID-19, many blood drives canceled or postponed their collection due to health concerns. The Carolina Blood Drive saw Red Cross workers and donors adapt by socially distancing, sanitizing and wearing face coverings in the Dean Dome. The result of the drive: around 800 units of blood, which DeNeals said makes it still the biggest drive held in the United States since the coronavirus pandemic began.

UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz donates blood at the 32nd Annual Carolina Blood Drive in Chapel Hill. (Dakota Moyer/Chapelboro.com)

“This drive remains one of the largest blood drives in the country,” she said, “and we need more than 1,000 blood donors to make appointments to do our part and help continue to ensure a stable blood supply. We cannot do this without the support of our community, and we appreciate and thank everyone who walks in the doors at the Smith Center.”

Those who are healthy and feeling well are encouraged to schedule and keep donation appointments for the Carolina Blood Drive. To schedule on the Red Cross website, organizers say to enter sponsor code ‘UNC,’ while other appointments can be made over the phone by calling the Red Cross number.

All donors who go to the Dean E. Smith Center will receive a commemorative shirt and free food from the event. Free parking will be available at the Skipper-Bowles lot near the Smith Center, with Chapel Hill Transit routes also taking donors to the arena.

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