Summertime is only about a week away at the time I’m writing this blog post.
With summer comes the ever-awaited vacation season. Families are bustling into their vans to go catch a little coastal relaxation. If you are a fan of music, then you already know that summer is the season for festivals, with many making the treks to Tennessee for Bonnaroo or to Chicago to catch the sun’s rays in Grant Park for Lollapalooza. It is safe to say that outdoor activities are in full-swing to coincide with the longer days.
All of this is awesome, especially for us folk here in Ohio who have waited to be thawed out from a despicable winter. But if you are a blood center or blood bank, this is one of the most crucial times of the year.
Blood shortages tend to happen during the summer more often than any other time of the year. But why? And, more importantly, how do the blood centers cope with a shortage when it happens?
The Importance of Blood Drives at High Schools and Colleges
The impact that student blood donors have on the national supply is outstanding.
The American Red Cross says that almost 20% of all the millions of blood donations that take place nationally each year come from student blood donors! The struggle comes from the summer break itself. Typically, high schools and colleges in America will bask in the excitement that comes with getting a three-month break from school, studies, and homework.
So if almost 1-in-5 blood donations comes from a student donor, what is the deal with the shortages during summer?
The American Red Cross says that almost 20% of all the millions of blood donations that take place nationally each year come from student blood donors! The struggle comes from the summer break itself. Typically, high schools and colleges in America will bask in the excitement that comes with getting a three-month break from school, studies, and homework.
So if almost 1-in-5 blood donations comes from a student donor, what is the deal with the shortages during summer?
The answer is easy. Among all the hustle and bustle of summertime excitement, there are far fewer places for a blood center or blood bank to set up operations to accommodate blood donors. If you really think about the statistic that almost 1-in-5 blood donations come from a student donor out of the millions of blood donations made annually, you are looking at many blood drives that are set up at the easiest place for these students to donate blood: their schools and campuses.
When school isn’t in session, there are fewer opportunities for educational facilities to hold blood drives. It becomes easier and easier to see how summer break and summer vacations can have an effect on blood donation collection efforts nationwide.
The Easiest Solution: Give Often and When Able
Most schools and college campuses have blood drive coordinators who take it upon themselves to schedule their own respective blood drives. Many even have a bi-annual or quarterly schedules to maximize the number of successful donations that can be received. I remember, even when donating at my own high school, there were two blood drives each year with one in the fall and the other during the spring. Regardless, since blood is always needed, it becomes more necessary to encourage donors to make an attempt to donate directly to their local blood center’s donor facilities.
This is why the work we do at Incept is absolutely invaluable to our current clients, as we focus directly on getting the donor into donor centers during these critical times and having complete lists of regularly updated and local mobile drives, as well.
We know it is a hard season for blood banks, but that is why we take pride in our jobs. We operate seven days a week to make sure blood banks all over the country have the units they need, when they need it most. Hopefully now you know a little bit more about why there tends to be an outreach from blood centers around this time of the year if you are a blood donor.
Are you a blood bank that is in need of specific blood types or donation types (apheresis conversions)? Are you looking to reactivate lapsed donors? Let’s talk about how Incept can help your blood center increase donor awareness, knowledge, and successful donations