Blood Donation is Vital
Throughout the year, there are different ways that people can give back to their communities. This month, consider encouraging your employees to donate blood. According to the American Red Cross…
- Every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood and/or platelets.
- About 1,000 babies are born with sickle cell disease each year. Sickle cell patients can need blood transfusions throughout their lives.
- The blood type most often requested by hospitals is Type O. (It is a Universal Blood Type. Type O is compatible with all other blood types and is used when a patient’s blood type is unknown.)
- One donation can help save more than one life.
- Blood and platelets cannot be manufactured; they can only come from volunteer donors.
What You Can Do
Companies across the country can encourage their employees to donate blood. You can even incentivize the donation through hosting a luncheon for those who give blood. You could also provide each donor with a token of appreciation, such as a branded tote that says “I Donated” or a simple mini notebook. Another option is to sell these products – or others that are more blood donation-focused, like the transfusion chill patch or the red blood cell stress reliever. Selling these with an imprint of your company logo can remind people that you having hosted a blood drive (and will hopefully do it again!). The proceeds of the sales can be donated to a national or local blood collection center, which gives opportunity to help for those who cannot donate.
As the recipient of a blood transfusion, I can vouch for the importance of donations. Someone, somewhere, donated blood and it saved my life. You can learn more about blood donation here. Click here to search for a blood drive near you. You can also learn about hosting a blood drive through the American Red Cross or Vitalant.
