Blood donation drives are incredibly important for hospitals and medical clinics to provide the care their patients need. Blood collected through these drives saves countless lives every year; this is because blood is needed for surgeries, trauma, cancer treatments, and many more crucial procedures. When you know the importance of blood donation drives, you or your organization may want to host one, but you may not know how to do it and how you can make sure it succeeds. Here are some tips to make sure that your next blood donation drive is successful.
Before
Before you organize your blood drive, there are some things you should plan ahead of time. Let’s look:
- Identify motivated leaders within your organization
- Plan ahead to avoid any major date conflictions in your area
- Make it personal – find someone who has benefited from blood donation and have them tell their story or sponsor the event
- Find a space that is large enough to accommodate your drive or parking available for a mobile drive.
- Use as many communication channels as possible to promote your drive
- Find a partner like the South Bend Medical Foundation to make sure there are plenty of staff and equipment to run the drive
- Educate potential donors. Explain to potential donors why it is so important to donate blood. Explaining the uses of donated blood can help encourage people to donate.
- Set up appointment times for your donors. Each donation takes between 45 and 60 minutes to complete. Setting appointments can help diminish long wait times for donors.
- South Bend Medical Foundation requires a minimum of 20 people signed up 2 days prior to the blood drive.
The most crucial timeframe when planning a blood donation drive is the time leading up to the drive. If you don’t effectively promote your drive, you will not have the turnout that you need. Only 10% of the people who see your promotions of the drive will actually participate. This means that you must reach a large audience to have the turnout that you need. Using the tips above when planning your blood donation drive will help you increase the turnout and success.
Make sure your donors are comfortable during the drive.
During
Now that you’ve figured out the day, time, and location of your blood drive, the next steps come when that day arrives. What needs to happen? There are 3 key guidelines:
- Have your volunteers assigned to a specific task
- South Bend Medical Foundation will provide snacks, juice and water throughout the duration of the event for the donors. Give individuals who are unable to donate other ways that they can help with the drive. They can make sure donors are arriving for their appointment times.
- Be positive and sincere. Make a meaningful impact on new donors and welcome back returning donors.
During the drive, it’s important to make sure everyone is doing their part and that your donors feel comfortable and informed. Be prepared to have unexpected issues come up but know that the preparations you made beforehand should make the whole process go smoothly.
After
After the blood drive is over, the work isn’t quite done yet. There are a few more steps you should make sure you do:
- Use your communication channels to thank those who donated
- Keep a list of donors who said they may want to donate again if you organize another drive
And now you’re done! Making sure to thank your donors and sponsors will make them more likely to participate if (and hopefully when) you decide to host another blood donation drive in the future and help make it even more successful!
Blood donation drives are a great way to help the people, hospitals, and clinics in your area. Blood donated at these drives saves countless lives and gives families hope for their loved ones.
South Bend Medical Foundation operates three blood donation centers in the greater South Bend/Elkhart area and our mobile units provide a great way for blood donations to be accomplished on site. SBMF can also help you with any questions that you have about organizing a blood donation drive. Visit our website today to learn more.
