Blood Drive personnel prepare for donations Published Aug. 11, 2014 By Raquel March AEDC/PA ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, TENN. -- The Blood Assurance Organization will provide a bloodmobile Aug. 12 - 15 at Arnold Engineering Development Complex (AEDC) for employees to donate blood from 10:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. each day. The bloodmobile is a mobile blood collection lab that provides a convenient method for donating blood and it will move to a different location each day while stationed at AEDC. The dates and corresponding locations are: Aug. 12 - The von Karman Gas Dynamics Facility, building 676; Aug. 13 - the Administration and Engineering, building 100; Aug. 14 - the Carroll building, building 1103; Aug. 15 - the Main Auditorium, building 452. Employees may donate at any of these locations during work hours with approval from their supervisor. To be eligible to donate, you must be at least 17 years old (16 years old with parental consent), weigh at least 110 pounds and be in good health. The process usually takes about 30 minutes and donors are asked to drink plenty of fluids - avoiding caffeine - and eat a meal that is rich in iron prior to donating. Bring identification in the form of a donor card or driver's license. It takes more than 400 donations every day to meet the need for blood in the areas serviced by Blood Assurance. The donations received will be used in Winchester, Manchester and Tullahoma hospitals. Blood Assurance is a non-profit, full-service regional blood center serving more than 50 health care facilities in Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama and North Carolina. Founded in 1972 as a joint effort of the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Medical Society, the Chattanooga Area Hospital Council, and the Chattanooga Jaycees, the mission of Blood Assurance is to provide a safe and adequate supply of blood and blood components to every area patient in need. For more AEDC blood donation guidelines and information, call 454-5385.