Northeast Community Credit Union is encouraging the community to help save a life by donating blood through blood drives to be held at both of their Elizabethton locations on Friday.

NCCU is partnering with Marsh Regional Blood Center to host the pair of blood drives. A team from Marsh Regional Blood Center will be at the NCCU branch located at 1321 Highway 19E from 8:30 a.m. until noon on Friday. After that event concludes, the team will move to the NCCU main office, located at 980 Jason Witten Way, for the second drive event from 1:30 – 4:30 p.m.

Those wishing to donate blood can call ahead and schedule their appointment time if they want. For an appointment at the 19E branch, call 423-543-7777 and for an appointment at the main office, call 423-547-1200.

Donors will receive a free T-shirt from Marsh Regional Blood Center.

According to information provided by Marsh Regional Blood Center, someone needs blood every two seconds and more than 4.5 million people could die each year without life-saving blood transfusions. There is no substitute for human blood. Currently, only 5 percent of the population donates blood, and of those 60 percent of donors give only once a year.