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Long-time Tullahoma-area resident Karen Tackett has recently accepted the position of Account Manager at the local Blood Assurance office. Her primary responsibility is to recruit businesses to partner with Blood Assurance by hosting a blood drive. Her territory covers Coffee, Moore, Cannon, Warren and Van Buren Counties.

Blood Assurance is the primary blood supplier for most local hospitals in middle Tennessee, including Vanderbilt Tullahoma – Harton Hospital.  Blood Assurance, 604 N. Jackson Street, has had a presence in Tullahoma since 2004.

Blood Assurance is a non-profit organization serving health care facilities in Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky and North Carolina.

According to Tackett, “Every single day, more than 540 donors are needed in the five state area to provide enough blood and blood products for the hospitals Blood Assurance serves.  Despite the need, only 3% of the eligible population donates blood.”

Tackett continued, “We are always looking to partner with local companies to host a blood drive and to encourage more individual donors.  In less than an hour, you have the power to change the life of someone battling cancer, living with a sickle-cell disease, or recovering from a traumatic accident.”

When asked why she chose Blood Assurance, Tackett said, “Honestly, it is by far the hardest job I have ever had but also the most satisfying.  At the end of the day I know the work I do leads to saving someone’s life.”