Inova Blood Donor Services, Washington Capitals Hold Record-Breaking Blood Drive

Sterling, VA – (April 2, 2010) — Inova Blood Donor Services and the Washington Capitals teamed up for their third blood drive on Saturday, March 27, shattering the record for most units collected at a sports team-sponsored blood drive in the DC Metro area. A total of 609 units of blood were collected from more than 640 Caps fans, beating last fall’s record of 459 units.

“The Capitals are proud of our partnership with Inova Blood Donor Services. Thanks to such a great fan base, our Caps/Inova blood drives are among the largest one-day drives in the DC Metro area. We thank the IBDS staff for their continued support and dedication, which has helped make the Caps blood drives such a rousing success as our fans turn out to help the community,” said John Greeley, Vice President, Washington Capitals.

“We far exceeded our goal and I could not be more proud — not only of the IBDS staff but also of the dedication of the Caps fans,” said Terri Craddock, Director, Inova Blood Donor Services. “Thank you for another great blood drive.”

Though this blood drive has the potential of saving more than 1,825 lives,  blood drives like this don’t happen every day. IBDS needs more than 200 units a day to keep up with the growing demand of blood and blood products in the DC Metro area. While 38 percent of the population is eligible to donate, less than five percent actually do. Blood donations support trauma patients, surgery patients, newborns, cancer and transplant patients, and others.

To schedule your appointment or to learn more about Inova Blood Donor Services, visit inova.org/donateblood or call 1-866-BLOODSAVES (866-256-6372).

Inova Blood Donor Services is part of the award-winning not-for-profit Inova Health System, which consists of hospitals and other health services, including emergency- and urgent-care centers, home care, nursing homes and mental health and wellness centers. Governed by a voluntary board of community members, Inova’s mission is to improve the health of the diverse community it serves through excellence in patient care, education and research. The mission of Inova Blood Donor Services is to provide a safe and adequate blood supply for patients in the diverse community it serves.