Blood Drive Basics
Below are a few basics to get you started in organizing your blood drive.
Inside Blood Drives
Every day, Community Blood Center hosts up to four inside blood
drives within a 18-county service area. Blood drives held within a
sponsor's facility are good options for sponsors who have a minimum
of 30 potential donors and resources for CBC to bring equipment to
set up a blood drive inside. Sponsor groups are asked to provide
tables, chairs, and refreshments for donors. CBC will schedule a
site visit prior to the blood drive to verify adequate space for
all blood collection supplies.
The best locations are large enough to provide confidentiality
for screening donors, clean, cool, provide adequate lighting, and
are easily accessible. Locations need to be near restrooms and
provide ample parking for blood donors.
High
School/University
Good locations are gymnasiums, student unions, auditoriums, indoor
common areas, and high traffic zones
|
Corporate
Drives
Good locations are conference rooms, lobbies, common areas,
activity centers, etc.
|
Community
Drives
Good locations are large open spaces such as a parish center, VFW,
or gathering halls.
|
|
Mobile Blood Drives
Everyday CBC hosts up to three blood drives on a bus. All
equipment and blood drive activity occurs on the bus. The only
requirement for a sponsor group is to determine a level parking
spot and access to restrooms.
This type of blood drive is ideal for groups with 20-40 donors,
or who do not have adequate space to conduct an inside blood
drive.
|
 |
Donor Center Blood Drives
 |
CBC has an office located in Dayton. This site works well for
small groups and individuals. The branch offers daily donation
opportunities for donors to make appointments which are convenient
for them. CBC also offers "Sponsorship Days," an opportunity for
groups, which may not meet requirements to host blood drives at
their locations to sponsor a blood drive at the branch. |
Get ready to help save lives!
A CBC Account
Representative is looking forward to working with you to plan
and organize a blood drive!
Contact
Us to Find Out More
Recruitment Tips and Strategies - Keys to
Success
Work with leaders within your
organization.
Successful blood drives have support from corporate management,
school administrators, and pastoral roles. Find a motivated group
within your organization to sponsor the blood drive and take the
lead.
Plan your dates to avoid conflicts.
Check the calendar, plan ahead, and choose a blood drive date
that does not conflict with major events such as holiday breaks,
school-wide exams, conferences, business meetings, or other special
events within your organization or community.
Set a blood drive goal.
Working with your CBC Account Representative, determine the
interest level within your organization and how many people may be
eligible to donate. Typically, 10% of the population will
participate. For example, if you have 300 students, approx. 30 will
participate in the blood drive.
Looking for other ways to be
successful?
- Organization or individuals can supply their own
items for the Donor Café.
- Create teams of ambassadors to help recruit donors
for the blood drive.
- Develop a theme for your blood drive.
- Honor a person or individual at the blood
drive.
- Schedule the blood drive in advance and clear any
potential conflicts.
- Form recruitment teams/committees to sign up blood
donors.
- Maintain constant contact with your CBC
representative.
- People who are not eligible to give blood can help
with the drive in other ways.
- Spend time asking potential donors to participate
in the blood drive face-to-face.
- Appointments are required in order for the blood
drive to run smooth.
- CBC recommends appointments entered at least one
week prior to the blood drive.
- Use all communication channels to advertise the
blood drive (emails, intranets, newspapers, bulletin boards,
morning announcements, mailboxes) to publicize the blood
drive.
- Make it personal-find someone who has a special
endearment for donating, and or has been personally touched by a
blood donation or blood transfusion.
- Ensure all the physical space is ready in advance
of the blood drive i.e. space, lighting, heating, cooling, tables,
chairs, etc.
- Be available during the day of the blood drive, or
designate a back up person for CBC to contact if there are any
questions.
- Develop a waiting list of donors to contact if your
schedule is full. These donors can be contacted during the blood
drive if there are any no-shows.
|
 |
What to Expect from Everyone Involved
Sponsor
- Finds a suitable location for the blood drive and
confirms availability and set-up on the day of the blood
drive.
- Provides two points of contacts for the blood drive
within the sponsor organization. CBC asks each organization appoint
to a primary and secondary chairperson.
- Publicizes the blood drive.
- Educates and encourages donors to schedule donation
appointments via
www.donortime.com.
- Organizes a recruitment team to recruit potential
donors within the organization.
Community Blood Center
- Helps determine logistics of the blood drive
including: location, hours, and type of blood drive most suitable
for your organization.
- Helps determine an appropriate blood drive goal and
how many donors to expect.
- Helps provide ideas on how to recruit donors.
- Brings equipment and supplies to your site; sets up
the blood drive and tears it down at the end.
- Screens donors, collects donations and brings blood
back to headquarters in Dayton for processing. Blood will be tested
and distributed to area hospitals located in CBC's 15-county
service area.
Donors
- Donors need to be prepared to spend up to an hour
to complete the entire donation process.
- Donation appointments are recommended in advance of
all blood drives via
www.donortime.com.
- Donors need to prepare for their donation by eating
a well balanced meal and drink plenty of water to "hydrate" before
they donate.
- Donors need to be healthy and bring proper
identification which includes a picture ID and date of birth.