February 20, 2018 – Hannaford, a longtime community partner with the American Red Cross, recently provided a gift through the Hannaford Charitable Foundation that allowed the Maine chapter of the Red Cross to purchase a new “bloodmobile” to help meet the need for blood donations statewide.
The new vehicle, which has the capacity to take five donors at a time, replaces an older one that was driven an average of 1,800 miles (2,897 kilometers) a month and collected about 6,000 units of blood annually. That’s nearly 10% of the amount collected in Maine each year at 2,000 Red Cross blood drives.
“We expect the new, more efficient bloodmobile will spend approximately 19 days each month on the road and be able to collect an average of 25 units per stop," said Red Cross spokesperson Ann Kim.
Guiding Stars Licensing Company Director Jim McBride, who helps coordinate quarterly blood drives at the Hannaford support office – which last year collected around 300 units – says many potential donors throughout Maine can’t make it to larger community drives for various reasons. "A bloodmobile can bring the opportunity to donate right to their doorsteps," Jim said.
The vehicle also will enable the Red Cross to hold smaller drives in outlying towns that might not have a good facility for a conventional community drive. This includes setting up in the parking lots of Hannaford stores throughout the state.
"Without the generosity of our donors, the Red Cross would not be able to fulfill its humanitarian mission," Ann said. "We are so grateful for Hannaford’s support."