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Hosting a Blood Drive

Did you know that every two seconds, someone in this country needs blood? It’s true. Blood is medicine, and it’s used to treat trauma patients, surgical patients, and even cancer patients. Ensuring a strong blood supply is available is one simple way to change the world for patients. And it all begins with community partners who host blood drives.

Hosting a blood drive is simple, straightforward process, especially with support from a blood center who routinely work with businesses, churches, schools, and any organization willing to help recruit blood donors to their drive.

When you give blood, you could be helping someone you know. There are several blood centers in the area, with Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center (MVRBC), having the most centers.  Another center is the St. Louis Red Cross Blood and Platelet Center.  In particular, MVBRS is the exclusive provider of blood products and services to more two dozen hospitals across the St. Louis Metropolitan Region.

For companies that want to host blood drives for their employees, the Blood Centers generally provide all the marketing and recruitment tools for the blood drive, bring a team of Donor Services professionals to carry out the event, provide all of the post-donation snacks, and can even come with a Bloodmobile if space is a challenge. The company or organization just brings the donors! They work with volunteer donors and organizations, at no cost to you, to host blood drives to help replenish and maintain a strong and stable blood supply for the local community. A drive can be held inside, or outside on a bus, anytime of the year

What is the benefit? Team building, employee engagement and the opportunity to give back to your community. Engage your cause marketing efforts by hosting a drive and build your civic loyalty by providing lifesaving blood products to patients in your communities. Showcase your business as a contributing member of the neighborhood and bring your company together to promote a lifesaving cause.

In a year of many challenges, companies across our region are looking for ways to help make a difference. Pat Dillon of Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center works with volunteer Blood Drive Coordinators whose efforts help save and improve lives of patients in hospitals throughout the St. Louis metro region, and beyond.

“Sometimes we can feel helpless with all that’s happening around us,” says Dillon. “But giving blood is a great way to support the health needs of our region. I have the pleasure of working with groups that generously step forward to host mobile blood drives, and it’s so rewarding to help people give back and put something good into the community.”

Blood donation is considered an essential service for health care and has continued throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Giving blood takes about an hour and the difference it makes can last a lifetime!

For more information, see www.bloodcenter.org and the Blood Center’s social media channels: www.facebook.com/MVRBC, www.twitter.com/willyougive, and www.youtube.com/MVRBC.