Nonprofit to supply hospital blood; Orangeburg will use The Blood Connection

MUSC Health Orangeburg has engaged The Blood Connection to meet patient needs for blood products with a stable blood supply, starting April 1.

The Blood Connection is an independent, non-profit community blood center that has collected and supplied blood products in South Carolina for more than 60 years.

MUSC Health Orangeburg joins other MUSC Health Charleston facilities in using TBC’s services.

As part of this partnership, TBC will assume all blood collection operations in the area to provide blood products for MUSC Health Orangeburg patients.

“In supporting our work as the state’s only comprehensive academic health system, providers such as The Blood Connection serve to ensure that we have the necessary blood products that are critical for the successful outcomes of our patients. We look forward to working closely with TBC to strengthen and improve the local blood supply now and into the future throughout the Orangeburg area,” MUSC Health Charleston CEO Dr. David Zaas said.

Founded in 1962, TBC is among the largest independently managed, non-profit community blood centers in the region.

MUSC says that TBC adheres to the same high-quality standards as MUSC Health and is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration and American Association of Blood Banks.

The nonprofit currently provides blood products and services for more than 120 hospitals across South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia.

“We are honored to partner with MUSC Health Orangeburg to continue the strong legacy of blood services in this community,” said Delisa English, president and CEO of The Blood Connection.

“MUSC Health and The Blood Connection have very similar missions, and we believe that this partnership will be a tremendous, long-term asset for MUSC Health Orangeburg patients and this community. We are eager to work with the many schools, employers, churches and others who have held drives and contributed blood products through MUSC Health Orangeburg’s donor center and bloodmobiles,” English said.

TBC currently operates 14 physical donation centers, with nine across South Carolina. The closest centers are currently located in Lexington, North Charleston and Augusta, Georgia. TBC also operates a fleet of bloodmobiles, which will travel across the region, allowing for even more collection drives at convenient locations in Orangeburg, Calhoun, Bamberg and Barnwell counties.

For more information, visit thebloodconnection.org.