Donations rise at Kentucky Blood Center after drive held to honor of 3-year-old

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Louisville family led a blood drive last week that helped boost donations.

The Kentucky Blood Center held "Super Donor Week" from May 16-21, in honor of Knox Shepherd, a 3-year-old boy who has been through rigorous cancer treatments.

Knox has been fighting anaplastic ependymoma, a rare tumor that forms when cells in the central nervous system begin to multiply rapidly. He's had 30 rounds of radiation and two rounds of chemotherapy for the cancer, after undergoing emergency surgery to remove the brain tumor.

He has "no evidence of the disease" now, so his family wanted to encourage blood donations like those that helped save Knox's life.

IMAGES | Louisville 3-year-old fights cancer with a smile at St. Jude's Hospital

The two blood centers in Middletown and Hillview finished with 142 registered donors last week. Although an exact number of donors can't be directly attributed to the "Super Donor Week" blood drive, the Kentucky Blood Center said it contributed to the increase in donations.

Eric Lindsey, director of media and branding for Kentucky Blood Center, said the blood center collected 124% of its projected red blood cells last week.

It was the third-largest collection of total red blood cells in the last three months.

Lindsey said it's a better measure to compare donations from the same time last year, which shows an increase in donors.

A year ago, Kentucky Blood Center had 87 registered donors for the same week. "Super Donor Week" helped to contribute to a 63% increase in registered donors from a year ago.

"We definitely had a good week given the historically slow time of the year," Lindsey said.

To schedule a donation at one of the two Louisville donor centers, you can make an appointment at the Middletown Donor Center here or the Hillview Donor Center here, or call 800-775-2522. Appointments are preferred. Walk-ins are welcome.

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