The new entity, Community Blood Center of the Carolinas, will be managed locally and supply blood and blood components to the partnering hospitals that serve 11 North Carolina counties and three South Carolina counties.

These hospitals are Carolinas Medical Center, Carolinas Medical Center – Mercy, Carolinas Medical Center – Pineville, Carolinas Medical Center – University, Presbyterian Hospital, Presbyterian Hospital – Matthews and Presbyterian Orthopaedic Hospital in Charlotte, Gaston Memorial Hospital in Gastonia, NorthEast Medical Center in Concord, and Piedmont Medical Center in Rock Hill, S.C.

 "In this collaboration, partner hospitals in the Greater Charlotte Region have agreed that it's time for a change in the way blood services are managed on behalf of this community," said Jeff Canose, MD, vice president, medical services, Gaston Memorial Hospital and spokesman for the initiating hospitals. "It's a good business decision, but an even better decision for quality health care, now and in the future."

Community Blood Center of the Carolinas will be a private, non-profit, tax exempt 501 (c)(3) corporation, governed by a volunteer board of directors made up of local medical, civic and business leaders and counseled by a medical advisory committee comprised of local physicians from the participating hospitals. 

Each year, nearly 60,000 units of blood are needed by the 10 partner hospitals in the Charlotte Metropolitan Region. The Greater Carolinas Region of the American Red Cross supplies the majority of the blood delivered with the hospitals providing the rest through internal blood drives.

The partnering hospitals will be the first to sponsor blood drives, collecting donations from their more than 30,000 employees.