Starlight Holds Blood Drive as CBC Announces Blood Emergency One Year Into the Pandemic

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – With the region’s blood supply dangerously low and donors desperately needed, Starlight will hold a two-day blood drive, Monday, April 19 and Tuesday, April 20 and invites all eligible Kansas City donors to give. Community Blood Center (CBC) recently announced a blood shortage in the region, one year after the metro was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Before COVID-19, donors could stop by community blood drives at convenient locations like high schools, colleges and offices. It has been one year since these groups had to cancel their blood drives due to COVID-19 and few have been able to resume these life-saving events.

CBC currently has just over a 4-day supply of blood, which is well below what is needed by area hospitals. The Kansas City metro’s healthcare system requires nearly 600 donations each day to treat patients ranging from trauma victims to newborn babies and their mothers to cancer patients. Donors with type O and type B blood are especially needed, as CBC currently has less than a 3-day supply of these blood types.

“With thousands getting vaccinated each day, we are thrilled to watch our state recover from this catastrophic year,” said Kim Peck, Senior Executive Director of Community Blood Center. “As Kansas City bounces back this spring, we need everyone to make an appointment and donate blood to help save lives. While the end of the pandemic is near, our struggle to fight for those in need continues.”

Several Swope Park and surrounding area organizations plan to participate in the blood drive, including the KC Pet Project, The Southtown Council, Kansas City Parks & Recreation and Go Ape KC. The two-day drive will be held in Starlight’s Applause Club on Monday, April 19 and Tuesday, April 20 from 10 a.m – 4 p.m. Appointments are strongly encouraged and can be made online at savealifenow.org/group, enter group code: EG9Z. The Applause Club is located on the east side of Starlight and can be accessed via Gate 8. Parking is available curbside and in the Zoo’s Zebra and Cheetah parking lots.

In order to protect CBC staff, healthy blood donors and our community blood supply, individuals are required to wear a face mask to their donation. Donors are instructed not to attend the blood drive if they are experiencing a fever or other symptoms of COVID-19 (chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing) or have been diagnosed with or suspected of having COVID-19 until 14 days after their illness has resolved. Please note: CBC does NOT test for COVID-19. Additional information is available at savealifenow.org/coronavirus.

Follow Starlight on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @kcstarlight.

About Starlight

Opened as a theatre in 1950 and a nonprofit organization in 1951, Starlight is the largest and oldest performing arts institution in Kansas City and provides inspiring, one-of-a-kind experiences to its patrons. Starlight presents and produces Broadway musicals, concerts and Indoors shows in addition to offering extensive community engagement programming, including classes, scholarships and Starlight’s Blue Star Awards, one of the largest high school musical theatre award programs in the nation.

Located on 16 acres in Swope Park, Starlight’s historic, city-owned venue is the second-largest outdoor producing theatre in the country and includes rehearsal halls, a museum, club area for dining, concessions, gardens, fountains and a 10-story, climate-controlled stage. For more information, visit kcstarlight.com.

About Community Blood Center of Greater Kansas City (CBC)

Community Blood Center, now part of the NYBC family, serves hospitals in the Kansas City metropolitan area, as well as eastern Kansas and western Missouri. CBC provides nearly 200,000 blood products per year to approximately 65 area hospitals – and calls upon about 580 donors each day to meet the need for a life-saving gift of blood. The blood center makes timely deliveries of safe, high-quality products to meet transfusion needs, for routine care and emergencies. For more information, visit http://www.savealifenow.org/.

CONTACTS:
Rachel Bliss, Starlight
Communications Manager
rachel.bliss@kcstarlight.com
816-997-1151

Chelsea Smith
Communty Blood Center
csmith@cbckc.org
816-645-4323