Donors became a heroes by simply rolling up their sleeves.
This year's event helped collect just over 2,600 units, which will save lives across the country.
Donors can only give blood every eight weeks, according to U.S. Food and Drug Administration guidelines.
The following is from an earlier report. The blood drive has now ended.
ABC7 Chicago teamed up with the American Red Cross to provide six convenient donation locations across the two days.
Schedule your appointment today here or call 1-800-RED-CROSS.
Walk-ins are also welcomed into any of the locations.
Thursday
7 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Highland Parks and Recreation
2450 Lincoln St., Highland, Indiana 46322
Hyatt Regency Schaumburg Chicago
1800 E Golf Road, Schaumburg, Illinois 60173
Imani Village
901 E. 95th St,, Chicago, Illinois 60619
Foglia YMCA
1025 N. Old McHenry Road, Lake Zurich, Illinois 60047
Little girls like Madelyn Marino benefit from blood donations.
She was diagnosed with leukemia when she was just 23 months old.
Her mother says her recovery wouldn't have been as successful without blood transfusions.
"She had to have one day one. So like when she was diagnosed, we stayed in the hospital for seven days and started treatment. And they want to make sure treatment is everything is going well, and it's working. So you stay there for a little while and yeah, she had everyone. She had to have one right away because her blood, was everything was very low. She's very tired, and she needed it in order to get through the first couple of treatments," Kathleen Marino said.
Marino is now 5 and cancer-free.
So, if you'd like to help children like her, mark your calendars for Jan. 14 and 15 for the Great Chicago Blood Drive.
2026 Great Chicago Blood Drive kicks off in January
Mother credits blood donations with saving son's life