The City of Harrison begins a new partnership with the Community Blood Center of the Ozarks in hosting blood drives.

Michelle Teter, Media Relations Representative with the CBCO, talked about that and upcoming blood drives during a recent visit to KHOZ's "Around the Table" program. Teter discussed the annual "56-Day Challenge" which starts the year which gives donors the opportunity to win prizes when committing to donate more than once a year. 

Teter discussed the history of the CBCO, which started 30 years ago and was formed by hospitals in southern Missouri, northern Arkansas, and southeast Kansas to help keep donated blood local. Teter says the CBCO is the sole blood provider for over 40 hospitals in the region including North Arkansas Regional Medical Center in Harrison as well as Cox Medical Center Branson. 

The first blood drive coordinated by the City of Harrison and CBCO is coming up on Wednesday from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm at City Hall. Teter added that NARMC is also hosting a blood drive this coming Tuesday. There are several blood drives coming up in the region the first two weeks of the year including:

Tue 1/6 Mercy Orthopedic Hospital Ozark 8:00 am to 2:00 pm
Tue 1/6 NARMC Harrison 12:00 to 6:00 pm
Wed 1/7 Harrison City Hall 9:30 am to 3:30 pm
Wed 1/7 Branson Tri-Lakes News Hollister 11:00 am to 5:00 pm
Tue 1/13 The Grove Christian Church Branson 9:00 am to 3:00 pm
Tue 1/13 Cox Medical Center Branson 11:00 am to 5:00 pm
Wed 1/14 Green Forest High School 8:00 am to 2:00 pm
Thu 1/15 Harrison High School 9:00 am to 2:30 pm
Fri 1/16 Mercy Aurora 11:30 am to 5:30 pm

More details can be found on the CBCO Website plus with the complete interview on the "Around the Table" Facebook Page.