When Hurricane Helene hit Southern Appalachia in late September 2024, East Tennessee State University and Marsh Regional Blood Center held a two-day blood drive at the student center in Johnson City, Tennessee. Donors from the campus and the surrounding community set a record for the drive, with 674 people giving blood. All of the blood collected stays in the region, where Marsh Regional supplies 20 medical facilities, regional cancer centers and five air rescue bases across Tennessee, Virginia and Kentucky. The blood center says each donation can help save up to three lives, and organizers thanked donors for their "overwhelming generosity."