Neighbors help neighbors
Shantrell Vereen has sickle cell anemia. He needs blood transfusions every three weeks. When Lisa Riley was diagnosed with leukemia, she was given five years to live if she didn’t receive a bone marrow transplant. Brianne Satterfield and Emma Janna both needed blood transfusions after car accidents.
The Blood Connection has been there for all of them and hundreds of thousands of other recipients since they opened their doors in 1962. It all began when a group of clinicians and civic leaders in the Upstate saw the need for a blood bank in South Carolina. Together, they formed The Greenville Blood Assurance Plan, which was merged into the Carolina-Georgia Blood Center nearly 20 years later.
The goal all along – and The Blood Connection’s mission today – has been to create a central resource for safely collecting and processing blood and blood products (think: platelets, plasma, red cells) that are accessible to local communities through their health care partners. In 2000, the board of trustees adopted The Blood Connection name to better reflect the non-profit’s role in connecting donors with recipients through their partnerships with more than 120 hospitals and other health care providers.
“We pride ourselves in being the local, community blood connection,” said Partnerships and Media Specialist Ellen Kirtner. “Our goal is to ensure that hospital partners have the blood products they need for the patients who need them.”
Over the years, The Blood Connection has grown to employ over 800 employees and has 50 mobile units. In 2024, they celebrated the opening of four new locations, bringing their total number of centers to 20 strategically positioned service areas across the Carolinas, Georgia, and Virginia. The rapid expansion has resulted in hundreds of thousands of units collected each year.
“When we move into a new area to open a center, it is generally because we have seen a need for community support in that area,” Kirtner explained. “Often, the local hospital has seen the need and invites us to join them in providing services to that community.”
Serving the Greater Columbia Area, the Lexington Branch opened its doors in 2021. It is open seven days a week to provide a peaceful setting where neighbors can help neighbors. The relaxing atmosphere includes complementary entertainment and refreshments – as well as the opportunity to save three lives with every donation.
The Blood Connection is vertically integrated, handling every step of the process from the point of collection to delivering blood and blood products to the hospital. They do all testing in-house and even have a hospital services team that manages the logistics of transporting the units to each health care partner. Their headquarters in Piedmont, South Carolina, is especially well equipped – earning it the nickname of “The Matrix” because the team/facility is ready to handle any possible scenario or need.
Recipients include individuals diagnosed with cancer, car accident survivors, surgery patients, children and adults who have blood disorders, and many others. They are sons and daughters, sisters and brothers, mothers and fathers. And they are neighbors.
Many of their donors – which number in the thousands – claim to benefit nearly as much as the recipients. Kenneth Greene is an O-negative blood donor who has given blood for decades in honor of his father, an Army Veteran who suggested his son donate beginning at the age of 18 and who was later diagnosed with a blood disorder. Lillia Holmes is a scientist who thought there wouldn’t be much use for her AB+ blood type but quickly learned that there is a constant need for the platelets and plasma she frequently donates. With plans to work in the health care field, Taylor Rogers hosted her first blood drive at her high school when she was just 17.
And then there are the stories where a donor inadvertently saved their own life – just through their generosity of giving blood for others. Traci Pruitt had recently donated blood at her local center when The Blood Connection called to let her know that her hemoglobin was low. Additional testing revealed they had caught her leukemia much earlier than they would have without The Blood Connection’s detection of her low iron levels. She has since become the recipient – a humbling feeling for her and her husband, Dwayne – but a role they are grateful for as it has added years to her life.
The annual blood bowl between the University of South Carolina and Clemson University introduces thousands of college students to the importance of donating through a friendly rivalry that collects more than 5,000 units each year and hopefully results in many lifelong donors. The Blood Connection co-hosts this event in partnership with the Red Cross, with donations staying in the local communities.
“We’re neighbors helping neighbors and our work is really about that sense of community,” Kirtner says. “What’s donated in your area goes right back into your community and might even help someone you know.”
January is National Blood Donor Month.
The Blood Connection
Lexington Pavilion
5141 Sunset Blvd.
Lexington, SC 29072
864-751-1168
Mon-Fri: 7:00 am – 7:00 pm
Sat-Sun: 7:00 am – 5:00 pm