‘UK at the Half’: The impact of blood donations at UK HealthCare
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 9, 2024) — The most common procedure performed in a hospital setting is a blood transfusion — and at UK HealthCare, which treats patients with the most complex health problems from across Kentucky, blood donations often mean the difference between life and death.
UK HealthCare receives its blood supply from Kentucky Blood Center. UK HealthCare is also their largest user of blood, using 40% of the blood supply maintained by KBC. KBC has eight donor centers in six different cities that collect blood six days a week alongside the thousands of mobile blood drives that occur in communities around the state.
In this episode of “UK at the Half,” Aaron Shmookler, M.D., medical director of UK HealthCare’s Blood Bank, and Zachary Warriner, M.D., UK HealthCare associate trauma medical director, discuss the importance of receiving blood donations from the community.
“UK at the Half” airs during halftime of each UK football and basketball game broadcast on the radio and is hosted by UK Public Relations and Marketing. To hear this “UK at the Half” interview, click the play button above.
UK HealthCare is the hospitals and clinics of the University of Kentucky. But it is so much more. It is more than 10,000 dedicated health care professionals committed to providing advanced subspecialty care for the most critically injured and ill patients from the Commonwealth and beyond. It also is the home of the state’s only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, a Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit that cares for the tiniest and sickest newborns, the region’s only Level 1 trauma center and Kentucky’s top hospital ranked by U.S. News & World Report.
As an academic research institution, we are continuously pursuing the next generation of cures, treatments, protocols and policies. Our discoveries have the potential to change what’s medically possible within our lifetimes. Our educators and thought leaders are transforming the health care landscape as our six health professions colleges teach the next generation of doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other health care professionals, spreading the highest standards of care. UK HealthCare is the power of advanced medicine committed to creating a healthier Kentucky, now and for generations to come.