Blood Drive Sponsor Recruitment Guide€¦ · Update from Senior Management ___ “Thank You” from Senior Management _ “Thank You” from Senior Leadership ___ Congratulations

Blood Drive Sponsor Recruitment Guide

version 05122011kt

Table of Contents

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Blood Drive Sponsor Recruitment Guide version 05122011kt

Introduction _________________________________________________________ 3

The Donation ProcessRegistration _____________________________________________________________ 4Screening ______________________________________________________________ 4The Process ____________________________________________________________ 5Post Donation Instructions _________________________________________________ 5

How to Run a Blood DriveScheduling _____________________________________________________________ 6Publicity ________________________________________________________________ 7Participation ____________________________________________________________ 8Preparation _____________________________________________________________ 9Recognition ____________________________________________________________ 10

Blood FactsBlood Components _____________________________________________________ 11Special Donation Methods _______________________________________________ 12Blood Fact Sheet _______________________________________________________ 13

Tools & TemplatesBlood Drive Checklist ____________________________________________________ 14Ways to Prepare for Your Donation _________________________________________ 15

Letters & MemosMemo from Senior Leadership ____________________________________________16Memo from CDR to Recruiter _____________________________________________17Reminder from CDR to Donor _____________________________________________18Update from Senior Management __________________________________________19“Thank You” from Senior Management ______________________________________20“Thank You” from Senior Leadership _______________________________________21

Congratulations and welcome!You are about to join a very proud and special group of people. Thank you for your interest in joining our life-saving team! With you as our partner, the American Red Cross can continue to meet the needs of local patients in the Greater Chesapeake and Potomac Region. Every day, blood is required in hospitals and emergency treatment facilities to help save the lives of accident victims, patients with cancer and other diseases, as well as those undergoing surgeries. We can bring hope and healing to patients and their families through the generosity of community supporters, like you. These patients are dependent upon your investment of time, energy, and enthusiasm in accepting the responsibility of coordinating your blood drive.

Did you know?Every two seconds, someone in America needs blood.

Each unit of blood donated can help save as many as three lives.

Three out of every 100 people actually give blood.

Who needs blood?• Patients having surgery• People whose blood will not clot on its own (hemophilia)• Accident victims• People whose blood is very low in iron (anemia)• Burn patients• People with sickle-cell disease

How important is your blood drive?The Greater Chesapeake and Potomac (GC&P) Region supplies blood to patients in over 60 hospitals – including 10 trauma centers – in the Baltimore, Washington, Northern Virginia and South Central Pennsylvania area. On average, we hold about 20 blood drives daily and strive to collect approximately 1,000 units of blood each day in order to fulfill the blood needs of patients in our community.

Introduction

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Some of the donors at your drive will be giving blood for the first time. Being able to answer their questions will make them more comfortable about the process and more likely to donate again. Communicating the message of the steps involved with blood donation may help ease their fears. The steps include –

Donor RegistrationThe donation process starts at registration, where donors are required to show a picture ID. Donors will be asked to read a booklet containing the confidential questions they will be asked about their health and lifestyle. Since tests can not detect all transmissible diseases in their early stages, honesty in answering these questions is a critical part of the screening process.

Donor ScreeningAfter registration, the donor meets with a member of the Red Cross collection team for a confidential health history interview. During this interview, very specific questions are asked to determine whether or not the donor may be at risk for any transmissible diseases, including hepatitis and HIV. After the donor’s identity and eligibility are confirmed, the donor receives a “mini physical,” checking temperature, blood pressure, pulse, and blood iron level. The mini physical helps the Red Cross determine if a blood donor can safely donate a pint of blood.

Blood Donors may be deferred at this step in the process. Some deferrals serve to protect the donor from risks of blood donation and some deferrals serve to protect the blood recipient from infectious disease or a lower quality component. The majority of donor deferrals are short-term deferrals that are resolved in a matter of days, weeks, or months, after which time the person is again eligible to donate. Most of these deferrals are for reasons such as low iron, cold, sore throat, or high blood pressure.

The Donation Process

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Blood Donation

Donor Screening

Donor Registration

Post Donation Instructions

Refreshments

Blood Donation ProcessWhole Blood Donation - The actual whole blood donation process usually takes less than ten minutes. After cleansing the donor’s arm, the phlebotomist inserts a needle, and blood flows into the collection bag. Most donors feel only a slight pinch when the needle is first inserted.

Double Red Cell Donation -The American Red Cross also collects blood donations with Automated Collections machines and you may see several at your blood drive. The automated donation process is safe and simple, and usually requires about 45 minutes of actual donation time. Just as with routine whole blood donations, the automated process uses a sterile, single-use needle and tubing set.

During the donation, blood is drawn from the donor’s arm. Once the blood reaches the automated system it is separated and the red blood cells are collected. Remaining blood components are safely transfused back to the donor. This process is especially beneficial to the local blood supply because it maximizes collections of specific blood types. It also means added convenience for local donors, whose time is at a premium.

Post Donation InstructionsThe next step in the Red Cross’ path toward safety is the distribution of post donation instructions to the donors, which provide them with contact information for notifying the Red Cross with any follow-up questions that they may have, or to inform Red Cross of any donor concerns.

Refreshments/Canteen AreaAfter giving blood, the donor is asked to relax for a few minutes and enjoy some refreshments in the canteen area.

First time donors may require special attention during this process. They may have questions about their experience we can answer, and we want to be sure they are feeling well and are hydrated before leaving the donation site.

Whole blood donation can occur every 56 days and double red cell donation can occur every 112 days. Blood donors have the power to save many lives and give the patient, their family and friends another chance at life. Refer to the flyer, “Ways to Prepare for your next blood donation”, on page 16 of this packet for a concise recap that you can provide to your first time donors.

The Donation Process (cont.)

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The Importance of SchedulingAs much as possible, blood drive sponsors should try to schedule donors in advance. Benefits of scheduling donor appointments for your blood drive include: • Minimizes the time donors are away from their normal schedule • Keeps traffic moving smoother; reduce waiting in lines • Reduces “no shows” - people with appointments are more likely to attend

Communicate donor count updates to your American Red Cross Account Representative on a regular basis to ensure that the drive is adequately staffed. Updates to your Red Cross representative are expected 2 weeks, 1 week, 3 days and 1 day prior to the drive. If your schedule fills quickly, be sure to communicate this information to your Account Representative. Create a “reserve list” of names and should someone cancel his/her appointment, call the names on your reserve list to fill the time slot. Try to fill any scheduling vacancies before the day of the drive. While walk-ins are welcomed at the blood drive, they should be accepted only when space is avaiable, scheduled donors should have priority.

Scheduling Donors is as Easy as 1-2-3!STEP 1: Pre-drive Sign-Up Sheets Use the Red Cross sign-up sheet that is provided to you by your Account Representative. Have each donor write down his or her name, preferred donation time and contact phone number.

STEP 2: Appointments Transfer the information from the Sign-Up Sheet to the consolidated blood drive schedule, provided to you by your Red Cross representative. This schedule has a set number of donors in 15 minute arrival time slots. Scheduling groups of donors in 15 minute time blocks allows each group to begin the process before the next group arrives. Make sure the donors are scheduled evenly and observe “slowdown time” for staff breaks. Call your Red Cross representative right away if you need to schedule more donors than your schedule allows. Reminder: the whole blood donation process takes approximately 1 hour to complete and donors are scheduled in 15 minute intervals.

STEP 3: Reminding Donors Several days prior to the drive, each donor should receive a reminder notice of his or her donation time. “Reminders” can come in the form of emails, phone calls, voicemail messages or in person. On the day of the drive, some donors may still forget their appointments. It is recommended someone be assigned to contact “no shows.”

Join Sponsors for Life!The Greater Chesapeake & Potomac American Red Cross Region has developed an online scheduling tool that replaces the paper based schedule and allows donors to schedule their own appointments. This online tool also sends automatic reminders, 48 hours before the blood drive to remind donors of their appointments.

How to Run a Blood Drive (Scheduling)

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Although it is important to recruit donors FACE-TO-FACE, publicity is also important to remind people about the blood drive. There are a lot of different ways to remind people that you need their help at the blood drive. Here are some ways to get you started.

ASK! Get recruiters to reach different groups of individuals within your unit. This helps insure that all eligible donors are personally asked. Four to six weeks before your blood drive, your Red Cross representative will meet with you and your recruiters to help develop a recruitment strategy, and to share information about donating blood and blood use. Here are some tips:

• Know your goal! Patients and hospitals are counting on you to make your goal!• Use a personal approach. FACE-TO-FACE recruiting works best.• Be visible. Set up a sign-up table in an obvious location and be available for donors’ questions.• Distribute life savers candies to donors who sign up for the blood drive.• Remind donors that they are required to:

~ Bring a picture I.D. to the blood drive.~ Eat a good meal and drink plenty of fluids before donating, and be sure to drink plenty of fluids

afterwards as well to replace fluid loss during the donation.

HANG POSTERS & FLYERS Put posters up everywhere – hallways, cafeteria, restrooms, etc. Be sure to include on every poster the date, time, place, and who donors should contact for more information about the drive or to schedule his/her appointment.

DISPLAY TABLE TENTS Set up table tents on cafeteria tables and in the reception area/front office.

EMAIL, NEWSLETTERS & WEBSITES Compose an article about a person you or someone in your organization knows who has benefited from blood or blood products. Your Red Cross representative can help you write a newsletter article about the blood drive and may also be able to provide you with photos or camera-ready art.

SUPPORT FROM COMMUNITY / ORGANIZATION LEADERS Generate a flyer or email to circulate to donors, with the endorsement from a senior manager or group member, asking for their support and participation. Your Red Cross Account Representative will be happy to provide you with the appropriate number of flyers for distribution and promotion.

SPONSORS FOR LIFE WEBSITE In an effort to make the life-saving gesture of donating blood even easier, we developed a tool that will make holding your next blood drive as easy as “point and click!” Not only will organizing your blood drive be easier, but scheduling and advertising for your drive will now also be much more convenient and efficient. Please visit www.membersforlife.org/rccm/bdc/login.php, to see how our online tool can benefit not only you, but the donor as well. Please contact your American Red Cross Account Representative to obtain your username and password to gain access.

How to Run a Blood Drive (Publicity)

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Having trouble meeting goal? Need help attracting more donors to your blood drive? Well, here are a few tips and ideas - some of which have been extremely successful at other drives - that can help you increase donors at your blood drive!

Ideas for Increasing Donor Participation• Have a contest between departments or groups within the organization for who has the most donors signed

up for the drive. Keep a scoreboard in a public area for everyone to watch the tally and publicly announce the winners.

• Several weeks before the blood drive, schedule a group of blood donor recruiters to set up an information table during the lunch hour in the cafeteria. Provide a large sheet cake along with displaying sign up sheets, advertisements about the upcoming drive and information about donating blood.

• Obtain buy in from senior management, who promote the drive through their own attendance at the drives, or even a personal note to the organization that they will be donating and would like to see them at the drive. This personal endorsement is a great boost to donations!

Ideas for Increasing First Time Donors• Host a “Bring a Buddy Blood Drive.” Ask regular or frequent blood donors to recruit one other person, who has

never donated, for the next drive.

• Give the person who recruits the most first time donors some type of reward or recognition for their efforts. This could even be a public recognition event at the drive.

• Invite a representative from the American Red Cross to make an educational presentation at your next organizational meeting. Invite someone who can serve as a testimonial speaker to present their story to your organization. Ninety-five percent of Americans will either need blood or know someone who will at some point in their lives. Chances are, it will not be difficult to find someone who has been a blood product recipient willing to share their lifesaving story.

• Use e-mail, voicemail, or an organizational newsletter to recognize first time donors after each drive.

• Offer a certificate of appreciation, or another token of gratitude, to all first time donors at your next blood drive. Publicize this incentive prior to the drive.

How to Run a Blood Drive (Participation)

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When you are planning a blood drive, organization is the key to success! As a blood drive coordinator, you do not have to do everything, but it will be important to delegate what you cannot do, and follow-up to make sure that everything gets done. Use the Blood Drive Sponsor Checklist provided in the References section to track assigned tasks to members of your Blood Drive team.

Prepare for the DriveDonor Recruitment - Form a Recruitment Committee! Enlist volunteers to recruit enough donors to ensure a successful drive that meets the collection goal. Your Red Cross Account Representative will let you know the appropriate number of donors needed on schedule to meet the collection goal.

Donor Scheduling Maintain the central schedule for donor appointments. Some ground rules for scheduling donors are:

a. Maintain a master schedule.b. Schedule donors by appointment intervals indicated on the master schedule.c. Maintain a steady flow of donors throughout the day to avoid long waits.d. Provide appointment cards for donors with the appointment time, date, and location noted.e. Obtain a phone number or email when the donor signs up for the blood drive. This will make contacting them

much easier to confirm their appointment 1-2 days before the drive, or to notify them of a change in schedule.

Publicity Your Recruitment Committee can develop fun ways to enhance awareness of the blood drive and the critical need for blood.

Day of the DriveOn the day of the blood drive, your greeter and refreshment volunteers will be the major players. They will be responsible for helping prepare and clean up the site, and for assisting Red Cross staff during the blood drive. Your Red Cross representative can give you an idea of how many volunteers you’ll need.

You should have volunteers for the following positions and tasks:

Greeters These volunteers greet donors at a welcome/registration table as they enter the blood drive. Select friendly and outgoing people for this position who will put nervous donors at ease.

Refreshment Volunteers These volunteers prepare and serve refreshments to donors after they donate.

How to Run a Blood Drive (Preparation)

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Thank You For Saving Lives!If people feel good after they give blood, they are more likely to give again. Thanking donors, on behalf of the patients who benefit from their gift, is a great way to ensure a lasting and positive final impression. It also reminds donors how important their donation really is for another person.

Create interesting and meaningful ways to thank donors and volunteers for their help. Here are some ideas:

THANK YOU NOTES Distribute a letter/email signed or sent by a senior manager or principal member of your group to each donor (even people who “tried”), and to volunteers to thank them for their help.

CERTIFICATES OF APPRECIATION Award donors and volunteers who participated in the drive.

DISPLAY RESULTS Send an email, distribute a hardcopy article, and/or update your website with the results of the drive, including how many first time donors participated!

USE THE MEDIA Contact local newspapers for a community news article recapping the drive, along with information about the Red Cross Blood Drive program. Your Red Cross Account Representative can assist you with the article.

How to Run a Blood Drive (Recognition)

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Saving Lives Every Day...Every year, millions of lives are saved by blood transfusions. There is only one source of this life-saving resource: people! That’s why your blood drive is so important. You are providing blood donors in our community a convenient donation opportunity – the first step in what we hope will become a lifetime of giving.

Because blood is a living tissue, it has a limited shelf life. Red cells can be stored refrigerated for 42 days. Platelets must be used within 5 days. Most whole blood is separated into, and transfused as, components including red cells, platelets, plasma and cryoprecipitate. One donation can potentially save up to three lives! Doctors prescribe different components to meet patients’ specific needs.

Component DescriptionsRed Cells are the blood’s oxygen carrying component, which might be given to a patient recovering from surgery, or someone suffering from anemia.

Platelets are the blood’s clotting elements, often needed by cancer patients to offset the side effects of chemotherapy.

Plasma is the blood’s liquid component, which might be given to an accident victim to restore blood volume.

Cryoprecipitate is a clotting factor in plasma, which can help people with hemophilia and other bleeding disorders.

Blood Facts (Blood Components)

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The Importance of Blood TypesAre you my type? It’s a question we all ask when developing a relationship, but it’s one many overlook during the match-making process in giving the gift of life. Believe it or not, donating blood is a relationship too. There are many aspects of a donor’s blood type that determine compatibility with its recipient.

Type O - Most patients can receive an O donation regardless of their blood type. Type O is often used for trauma victims.

Type A - A large number of patients benefit from this blood type’s plasma, platelets, and red blood cells.

Type B - Our area has a high type B population, therefore shortages of the B blood type are common.

Type AB - Virtually all blood types can accept plasma and platelets from an AB donor.

Whole Blood and Double Red Cell DonationsThe most common donation method is known as whole blood. In this process, all components of your blood are collected. However, there are more options than simply donating whole blood. In a procedure called Double Red Cell, two units of red blood cells are collected, returning the remaining blood components to the donor.

Blood Facts (Special Donation Methods)

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Ask your Red Cross account representative

for the specific donation requirements for whole

blood and double red cell.

BACKGROUNDThe American Red Cross Greater Chesapeake and Potomac Region supplies more than 60 hospitals and trauma centers in the Baltimore-Washington, Northern Virginia and South Central Pennsylvania area.

THE NEED FOR BLOOD• Every 2 seconds, someone in our region receives blood.• Only three out of every 100 people donates blood.• Approximately 1,000 blood donations are needed daily to supply the needs of patients in our community.• A single trauma victim can use 100 units of blood in a few hours.• A single liver transplant operation usually/or tends to require a minimum of 50 units of blood.

WHO USES THE BLOOD• Each blood donation can be separated into components and may save up to 3 lives.• 25% of all blood products are used by cancer patients.

THE SAFETY OF THE BLOOD SUPPLY• All of the supplies used in your blood donation, including the needle, are sterile and used only once - JUST

FOR YOU.• Each unit of blood undergoes extensive state of the art tests, whether it is the donor’s 1st or 100th donation,

to ensure that the blood is as safe as possible for transfusion.

THE DONATIONA Red Cross professional will determine your eligibility to donate on the day of your donation.• The actual blood donation takes 8-10 minutes; however, the entire process, from registration to refreshment,

will take approximately one hour.• One pint of blood is given during the donation. It is quickly replaced by the body.• A normal adult’s body has between 10 to 12 pints of blood.• An individual may donate whole blood every 56 days.

Blood Facts

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Blood Drive Checklist

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©2009 The National American Red Cross

• Eat regular meals as normal.

• Drink plenty of fluids. Double up on fluids 24-48 hours in advance, and the day of your donation.

• Limit caffeine intake.

• Be sure you have a photo ID with you for your donation.

• Be able to list any foreign nations you’ve traveled to in the past three years, and your length of stay in each nation.

We want to make sure that your next donation is as easy as possible. Be sure you meet the criteria below before scheduling your next appointment:

Individuals who are 17 years of age (16 with parental permission in MD, PA and VA), weigh at least 110 pounds and are in generally good health may be eligible to donate blood. High school students and other donors YOUNGER THAN 19 YEARS also have to meet certain height and weight requirements. Please bring your Red Cross blood donor card or other form of positive ID when you come to donate.

For more information about eligibility or to schedule an appointment, call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE (1-800-448-3543) or additional information can be found at www.my-redcross.org.

The American Red Cross will never share your personal information with any third party for any reason without your expressed consent.

1-800-GIVE-LIFE | my-redcross.org

How can you prepare for your next blood donation?

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Greater Chesapeake and Potomac Blood Services Region

4700 Mt. Hope Drive Baltimore, MD 21215 Tel 410-764-7000 www.my-redcross.org

Sample Memo from Senior Leadership. An electronic version of this template can be retrieved by contacting your Red Cross Account Representative.

To All (Group Name) Employees/Members:

There is always a need for blood in the United States. Accidents, surgeries, and other everyday occurrences require a constant supply of donations. With our help, the Red Cross can con-tinue to meet these needs every day.

In the next few days, you’ll be contacted by a volunteer who has agreed to serve as a blood drive recruiter. They will ask you to support the program and pledge to donate blood. Please support him/her and do your best to take the time to donate.

If for some reason you are not able to donate, you can still make a big impact by helping with the blood drive. Contact the recruiter if you are interested in doing so.

Remember, the drive is on (date,time,place). Please bring some form of picture ID with you. I thank you in advance for your help.

Sincerely,

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Sample Memo from Coordinator to Recruiter. An electronic version of this template can be retrieved by contacting your Red Cross Account Representative.

From: (CDR Name)To: (Recruitment Committee’s Name)Subject: Blood Drive (Date)

It’s time to save a life again. Our next blood drive is scheduled for (date). I was hoping that I could count on you to serve as recruiters and/or coordinators again. We need a minimum of one person per (floor/department, etc) for this drive to run smoothly.

There will be a brief recruitment meeting on (date) at (time) in (place). Please come and bring a friend who might also want to lend a hand. A Red Cross representative will be here to brief us and distribute materials.

Remember, the drive is on (date). I’d really appreciate it if I could depend on your help for another successful blood drive. Thanks!

Sincerely,

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Sample Memo Reminder from CDR to Donor. An electronic version of this template can be retrieved by contacting your Red Cross Account Representative.

From: (Coordinator’s Name)To: (Donor Name)Subject: Blood Drive Appointment

Thank you for agreeing to donate blood at the drive on (date) at (time). The blood we collect will help us meet our goal of (# units) pints. Remember, every two seconds someone needs blood.

If for some reason you are unable to keep your appointment, please let me know as quickly as possible so we may schedule someone else in your place.

Thank you for your help!

Sincerely,

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Sample Memo Update from Senior Management. An electronic version of this template can be retrieved by contacting your Red Cross Account Representative.


My sincere thanks to all of you who have already pledged to give blood. To date, (# donors) people have signed up. But to reach our collection goal of (# units), we need at least (# goal) donors. So please call or visit one of our recruiters today, if you haven’t already.

Call any of the following recruiters to schedule your appointment to donate: (Insert recruiter names and phone numbers)

Remember, the drive is on (date), and with your help, we can beat the last blood drive when we collected (# units) pints. Thank you in advance for your help.

Sincerely,

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Sample Memo “Thank You” letter from Senior Management. An electronic version of this template can be retrieved by contacting your Red Cross Account Representative.


Congratulations to everyone – donors, volunteers, recruiters – who helped top our goal of (# units) pints at the blood drive. Thanks to your efforts, we collected (# units) pints of blood and (# donors) people donated for the first time. Please feel free to pass on any comments about the donation process to (CDR, phone number). Again, many thanks for helping to boost the blood supply in our area.

Sincerely,

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Sample Memo “Thank You” letter from Senior Leadership when Goal is NOT met. An electronic version of this template can be retrieved by contacting your Red Cross Account Representative.


We’d like to thank everyone – donors, volunteers, recruiters – who helped with our blood drive. Unfortunately, we fell (# units) pints short of our goal of (# units) pints. However, the (# units) pints of blood we did collect will help patients who need them. Although we didn’t reach our goal, we had (# donors) first-time donors, and they usually become regular donors. And we’re confident that at the next drive, we’ll not only meet, but exceed our drive goal. Please feel free to pass on any comments about the donation process to (CDR, phone num-ber). Again many thanks for helping to boost the blood supply in our area.

Sincerely,

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Documents

Blood Drive Sponsor Recruitment Guide€¦ · Update from Senior Management _____ “Thank You” from Senior Management _____ “Thank You” from Senior Leadership _____ Congratulations

Blood Drive Sponsor Recruitment Guide€¦ · Update from Senior Management ___ “Thank You” from Senior Management _ “Thank You” from Senior Leadership ___ Congratulations