The Community Blood Center held their annual MASH Blood Drive on Friday, Aug. 2. The blood drive happened at a new location this year, moving across the fairgrounds to the Expo Center. According to Tyler Sjostrom, PR & Community Engagement Specialist for the Community Blood Center, they anticipated a few challenges with the new venue, however it went over really well.
“The goal was to get 200 usable donations this year,” said Sjostrom. “We have had over 230 people through the door, so we should be close to hitting that mark. We had about the same amount of people as last year and a lot of those people are regular donors.”
Since 1955, The Community Blood Center has served patients and hospitals in Northeast Wisconsin. Blood donated locally to the Community Blood Center is processed locally and used at local hospitals.
Each year, The Community Blood Center (CBC) holds four specially themed blood drives – Appleton, Waupaca, Rhinelander (Hodag) and Merrill – which take on the look and feel of a mobile army hospital, much like the famous TV show MASH.