2013 winter drop
DESCRIPTION
The Drop is the official newsletter of ADRP. It is mailed directly to donor recruiter professionals and senior management of blood centers throughout the US, Canada, Africa, Asia, Australia and Europe four times yearly.TRANSCRIPT
2013 WINTER ISSUE www.ADRP.org
The Resource for the Donor Recruitment Professional
Inside this Issue:Digital Media Connects Blood Centers and Potential Donors Pages 4-8Hospital-Based Blood Center Expands Donor Program Pages 10-13ADRP Survey Results on Blood Collections Pages 14-16For Michigan Blood, Logistics Really is Life or Death Page 18Blood Supply Visual Exercise Page 19Question & Answer Pages 24-25Winter Buzz Pages 26-27
Digital Media: A Vital Bloodline in Communicating
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EXECUTIVE BOARD2012 - 2013
President Carol Mitchell National Sales ManagerCanadian Blood [email protected] Immediate Past President David GrahamVice President, Donor & Hospital ServicesCommunity Blood Center, Kansas [email protected]
President-ElectDarrin GreenleeCEO, Arizona Blood Services RegionAmerican Red [email protected]
Treasurer Charles MooreDirector, Recruitment Call CentersAmerican Red CrossCarolinas Blood Services Region [email protected]
Vice President Todd AbnerVice President of Donor RecruitmentOklahoma Blood [email protected]
Vice President Carla PetersonDistrict Director of Donor ServicesUnited Blood [email protected]
Secretary Christine HayesVice President of OperationsLifeServe Blood [email protected]
Executive Director Deb [email protected]: 512.658.9414
ADRP’s MISSION:
To provide education, development and resources for the donor recruitment
professional.
Find ADRP News Year Round!
ADRP’s VISION:
We are the worldwide industry leader in the field of donor recruitment with an ongoing commitment to shaping international policies and standards and to develop marketing strategies and specialized resources for the donor recruitment professional.
Ad IndexCompany Name Page #
bloodbankpartners.com ........ 29Donor Dialogue ................... 28Fenwal, Inc. .......................... 7Francis Communications, Inc... 17Haemonetics ......................... 2HemaTerra .......................... 20Incept Corporation ............... 13MacoPharma ....................... 28National Bus Sales & Leasing, Inc ................... 29Terumo BCT .......................... 9
Upcoming Calendar Reminders
April 10, 2013WEBINAR: Putting the Genie Back in the BottlePresented by Christopher Macri and Jennifer Whelihan,Rhode Island Blood Center
Sign Up Today & Mark Your Calendar
May 15-17, 2013ADRP ConferenceTalking Stick ResortScottsdale, ArizonaLearn More
June 12, 2013WEBINAR: 25% in 25 Months… Learn How to Make Your Collection Goals a Reality Presented by Sarah Johnson
Sign Up Today & Mark Your Calendar
Digital Media Connects Blood Centers and Potential Donors
by Dacia Rivers
Page 4 / the Drop - ADRP’s Quarterly Newsletter Winter 2013
raditional forms of media, such as television and print publications, are making way for digital media, which continues to grow in popularity among businesses working to promote their brand and attract clients. Blood centers are no exception when it comes to their media usage. Communications professionals at blood centers
worldwide cite the affordability and wide reach of digital media, especially social media, as the main factors that have driven more and more of their communication efforts online.
Christine Hayes, vice president of operations at LifeServe Blood Center in Des Moines, Iowa, finds that digital media fits her organization’s budget and can be more timely and efficient than traditional forms of media. “We don’t have a large budget for advertising,” Hayes says. “We have to make very deliberate and conscious efforts where we do spend our ad dollars.”
Paul Hayes, marketing and communications manager at the New Zealand Blood Service, says his organization has ceased airing its yearly television campaign, instead investing all of the funds previously used for the campaign to hire a new advertising agency with more experience using digital media.
Hayes finds that being able to target individuals more accurately using digital media is one of the many upsides to switching from more traditional communication methods. Blood centers can use digital media to gather more information about their donors, since the medium allows for two-way communication between staff and users, unlike television and print media.
“We’re moving away from an ‘any donor, any time’ kind of model to try and get the right donor at the right time to get the right product,” Paul says. “Traditional marketing is designed to attract anybody who might be interested in donating blood. Our strategy going forward is to drive people online to find out more information, including their blood type, before they donate.”
Leslie Botos, vice president of public affairs at California-based BloodSource, appreciates the different, younger audience that online media reaches, allowing blood centers to reach new potential donors than those they might attract with television communications. “We’ve seen an incredible benefit in mobilizing people in a short amount of time,” Botos says. “Especially when we look at our high school and college blood drives.”
The instantaneous nature of digital media pays off for blood centers in times of crisis. A few years ago, after a
T
the Drop - ADRP’s Quarterly Newsletter Winter 2013 / Page 5
pipeline explosion in California, Botos and her team used digital media to quickly reach out to potential donors, asking for donations immediately—something that would have been accomplished with time-consuming phone calls in the past. “It made me a believer in the power of Facebook and Twitter,” Botos says.
Digital media can allow for timely communications about non-crisis events as well, according to Christine Hayes. In Iowa, winter weather can make planning events in advance tricky, so communications staff at LifeServe Blood Center use social media sites to share last-minute cancellations or relocations of blood drives if weather becomes an issue.
Paul Hayes has used social media to quickly correct errors made by the press. Following an earthquake, local media sent out a message that the New Zealand Blood Service desperately needed blood when, in fact, that was not the case. Not wanting to collect blood that would go unused, the organization turned to fast and reliable social media outlets to correct the mistake. “We knew it would get out to people really quickly, but because people were slamming our website, our website went down,” Paul recalls. “So the primary tool we used in that particular crisis was Facebook.”
Of course, creating a social media presence opens your organization up to incoming communications from anonymous commenters, which can sometimes lead to tense situations. Botos believes open communication is the best response to insulting or attacking comments. She says that her organization very rarely deletes negative comments left in social media forums. Instead, communications staff typically replies with an apology and a request to continue the discussion privately. Botos warns against getting pulled into an argument. “We work hard at not getting into a back and forth discussion using Facebook or Twitter,” she says.
Paul Hayes has also experienced negative comments via social media. The New Zealand Blood Service suffered one repeated attack on its Facebook page, and Hayes and his team spent a significant amount of time working with Facebook headquarters to get that poster removed. “You’ve got to keep an eye on that stuff, and you’ve got to jump on it real quick,” Hayes recommends.
Hayes also suggests that blood centers invest in digital media and treat it like the useful resource it is. Rather than adding the task of managing social media onto existing communication staff ’s current workload, blood centers with a successful social media presence hire individuals who can dedicate their time to developing and maintaining a digital media strategy. “Put some resources behind it,”
“We knew it would get out to people really quickly…so
the primary tool we used…was Facebook.”
- Paul HayesNew Zealand Blood Service
Page 6 / the Drop - ADRP’s Quarterly Newsletter Winter 2013
Hayes advises. “You can probably afford to do that if you’re moving away from traditional, more expensive advertising. Hire the help or use a support agency, particularly with social media.”
Botos agrees. “Hire the right people,” she suggests. She adds that it’s important to remember that online communication is a relationship created through words. “Make certain that communication is fair, truthful and ethical.”
Christine Hayes points out that it’s easy to use social media solely to ask for donations in times of need. But she warns that doing so may alienate some potential donors. “Find other ways to remain connected to your donor-customers outside of the traditional plea for blood,” she says. “Send them a birthday email and newsletters, and keep them abreast of important news. That will help garner visibility about the need for blood donations and you’ll have a committed blood donor.”
“It made me a believer in the power of Facebook and
Twitter.”
- Leslie BotosBloodSource
“Find other ways to remain connected
to your donor-customers outside of the traditional plea for blood.”
- Christine HayesLifeServe Blood Center
Social Media and PR Topics from Conferences Past
The Highs and Lows of Social MediaAsuka Burge, New Zealand Blood Service2011 ADRP Conference
This presentation addresses what you need to be aware of when setting up a Facebook Page, how a negative incident can be managed to ensure the integrity of the organization is not adversely affected, and how Facebook can aid a Blood Service to provide quality customer service, improve awareness and provide a communication avenue to the younger demographic.
Access online on the Recruiter Resources page or click here.
Driving Results Via Social MediaPanel Discussion2010 ADRP Conference
Hear how tools such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn should have a place in our recruitment toolkits. ADRP bring some of recruitment’s top social media experts to share their experiences, strategies and best practices for promoting blood donations online. Learn the ins and outs of social networking and understand what products and tools are must-haves for today’s recruitment professional.
Access online on the Recruiter Resources page or click here.
Crisis CommunicationMark Kelley, Community Blood Center of Kansas City2007 ADRP Conference
The presentation addresses the importance of a crisis communication plan for an organization. The discussion provides information on how to factually assess a crisis situation and determine whether a communications response is warranted and how to implement the plan. This session focuses on real crisis situations and outcomes.
Access online on the Recruiter Resources page or click here.
Page 8 / the Drop - ADRP’s Quarterly Newsletter Winter 2013
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Hospital-Based Blood Center Expands Donor Program With Great Success
After only one year under Campbell’s management, the units collected at the hospital increased to 450. In year two, that number jumped to 1,000 units collected. And by the third year of Campbell’s involvement, the Marsh Regional Blood Center collected more than 1,300 units of blood from one hospital alone.
In planning the changes, Campbell looked to hospital employees to ask what would make them more likely to donate blood. The blood center created a survey that was distributed to all employees at the large hospital, asking specific questions, such as where and how often employees would be most likely to donate.
When Don Campbell became the director of northeastern Tennessee’s Marsh Regional Blood Center in 2008, the center was collecting about 200 units per year from the large regional hospital to which it was attached. But Campbell knew they could do better. Much better, in fact. And so he introduced a series of sweeping changes, reimagining every aspect of how the blood center and the hospital worked together.
by Dacia Rivers
Page 10 / the Drop - ADRP’s Quarterly Newsletter Winter 2013
Campbell feels that listening to the staff and their suggestions is a large part of what has increased the number of units donated at the hospital. “Our accessibility and our willingness to listen to hospital employees as to when they have the time to donate is important,” Campbell says.
In response to the survey, Campbell introduced several changes to how the center solicited donations from hospital employees. To begin, Campbell considered what wasn’t currently working about the blood donation program. When he joined the team, the collection site was located in a building half a block away from the hospital, so donors would have to leave the hospital and travel to the site to donate. The first change Campbell implemented was to move the donation site inside the hospital, allowing employees and guests to quickly make donations without having to leave the building.
The donation site now sets up in the exact same place inside the hospital twice per month for three shifts each day, allowing employees easy access to the site that they can rely on to be consistently staffed and located. “It eliminates a lot of the guesswork,” Campbell says. Two months every year, the donation
site opens for a third day and adds a late shift to grant easy donation access to employees working overnight.
In addition, hospital management has helped by providing incentives for employees who donate blood. Employees are allowed to visit the donation site and give blood while they are on the clock. “It’s not a disruption in their workday,” Campbell says. “It’s an encouraged function.” Hospital employees also receive a free lunch from the hospital on each day that they donate to the blood center. Donating blood has become second nature to many hospital
1. First Step: Get hospital
management / senior leadership
on board to recognize a need for
change.- Make presentations to h
ospital
management showing usage of
blood vs. employee donations
2. Get the employee’s perspective.
- What would make them more
likely to donate?
3. Consider what’s not working.
- Collection site too far away?
- Collection site not open often
enough?
4. Provide an incentive.
- Allow employees to give blood
on the clock.- Provide a free lunch from the
hospital when they donate.
5. Increase communication
efforts.
- Don’t give employees the
opportunity to say they didn’t
know.- Run text on screensavers
,
closed circuit television; and
internal website homepage.
6. Encourage hospital visitors
to donate.
- Communicate the benefits
to those visiting loved ones.
- Provide similar incentives.
7. Begin a Blood Type Club
- Don’s O-negative club had
members promise to donate
3x a year.- Members received a keychain
and coffee mug after first
two donations; T-shirt after
the third.
Have patience!- Don reminds us it took 18 months to achieve the results
he discussed. Have patience and trust the process.
employees, who regularly come in groups to donate. In fact, the number of donations per donor at the hospital exceeds that of any of the Marsh Regional Blood Center’s other programs. “Now it’s an ingrained habit that they donate as often as they possibly can,” Campbell says.
Campbell feels that getting hospital management to realize the need for change and help implement those changes was crucial to his program’s success. One of Campbell’s first steps before introducing changes to the donation system was to make presentations to hospital management, showing them how much blood their hospital used versus how little blood their employees donated. “We made multiple presentations to hospital leadership and department heads, letting them know, ‘You use this many units, yet you have 2,000 employees and
you’re giving less than 10 percent,’” Campbell says, then joking, “Shame has worked wonderfully to build growth.”
Another major change that Campbell credits for generating more donations was an overhaul of the way the blood center communicates with hospital employees. Now, employees at the hospital can never honestly say they don’t know when the donation site is up and running. Text announcing upcoming blood collection days regularly circulates on screen savers on all system computers in the hospital. The closed-circuit hospital television network also announces upcoming collections, as does the home page on the hospital’s internal website. During collection times, reminders are announced via the hospital’s intercom system every other hour.
Campbell has found that while ramped-up communications and ease of donating have
increased the number of donors and units collected, what seems to keep donors coming back are the fun, personalized incentives the Marsh Regional Blood Center has instituted. Hospital employees can now form groups and commit to donating a certain amount of blood over the year. These groups then compete to meet their goals, holding themselves and each other accountable and working as a team. The blood center also held a T-shirt design contest in 2012 that will be repeated this year, encouraging hospital staff to compete in designing a T-shirt for donors. The blood center also boasts the names of its top donors on a television screen mounted to the hospital’s heritage board, giving individuals recognition for their donation efforts.
Beyond bringing hospital employees together, Marsh Regional Blood Center’s system also encourages hospital guests to donate. Recently, a family was visiting a woman in the hospital where she was undergoing emergency surgery. While anxiously waiting to hear of their family member’s outcome, 13 of
her 15 guests visited the donation site to give blood. “It gave them something that they could feel good about,” Campbell says. The next day, they all wore their Marsh Regional Blood Center T-shirts when they came to visit and heard the wonderful news that their relative was going to make a full recovery.
The most recent change Campbell has instituted at the blood center is creating a Type O-negative club. Universal donors with Type O-negative blood are encouraged to join this club by signing a contract promising to donate three times per year. Club members receive a keychain or coffee mug after their first two donations, and a limited edition O-negative club T-shirt after completing all three donations. So far, the program has been a success. In 2012, the program grew the units of Type O-negative blood in inventory by 20 percent, allowing the blood center to reduce purchases of Type O-negative blood by 47 percent. “I think the fact that they were involved in something that was kind of different is what allowed this to be so very successful.” Campbell says.
Campbell believes that these changes are ones that can be made at any hospital-attached blood center. “The first thing you have to do is get a senior leadership buy-in, a commitment to grow the blood program within the hospital,” Campbell says. “I think having senior leadership supporting the drive and participating in the drive has been hugely important in our success.”
Campbell urges patience when making sweeping changes to the blood donation process. “It took us 18 months to make this really work to the level where we wanted it to work.” He also suggests starting with achievable goals to inspire confidence in your program before reaching for the skies. “In year one, we set the goal very low,” Campbell says. “We wanted to have a positive effect.”
These days Campbell and the Marsh Regional Blood Center are instituting similar programs at the two next biggest hospitals in the area. And next up on their agenda: Increasing the platelet donation program in a similarly successful fashion.
While blood centers seek to attract new blood donors and retain existing ones in a shrinking donor pool, they simultaneously work to avoid excess blood collection. To maintain the right balance requires effective donor base management to target the right donor with the right blood group for the right product at the right time.
Blood centers are promoting increased cooperation and collaboration across the whole supply chain in order to achieve this balance. Some blood centers have already merged recruitment and collections into the same Donor Services Department.
ADRP Survey Results on Blood Collectors Challenges & Needs
Modules for Frontline RecruitersRespondents list current and future
challenges facing collections professionals
ADRP Survey Results on Blood Collectors Challenges & Needs
Modules for Frontline RecruitersRespondents list current and future
challenges facing collections professionals
Page 14 / the Drop - ADRP’s Quarterly Newsletter Winter 2013
CEOs and senior leaders have indicated to ADRP the need for education on:
• Improving organizational efficiency• Utilizing automation• Reducing collection costs, including processing and
testing costs • Building a cohesive team• Targeting donors
ADRP has recognized the industry’s changing paradigms. Understanding the importance of aligning collection and recruitment goals while also striving to be a resource for recruitment practices around the globe, ADRP recently conducted a survey of blood centers to understand how the association could facilitate education needs in these areas. Survey respondents included senior directors in collections across the globe.
Universally, respondents felt there was a significant gap in the availability of professional and personal development opportunities for collections staff.
Respondents were candid that the collections function is a challenging and changing environment – and one that also faces significant need of productivity improvement.
Interpersonal and customer services skills were most often mentioned as the area in greatest need of attention for front-line blood collection staff.
Leadership skills development was also often mentioned as a key area of need for Collections Supervisors and Managers
While all areas appeared to resonate the topics with the greatest difference between their importance and their current skill sets were issues around managing and leadership. The respondents indicated an interest in educational endeavors regarding:
• Communication • Coaching for improved performance • Team building • Identifying, evaluating and hiring the right talent• Supervision • Customer service
In the survey results, hard skills for collections professional were valued but respondents noted less of a gap regarding:
• Scheduling and calendar management• Donor conversion• Core competency skills, such as phlebotomy success
rates, deferral percentages, etc.
Respondents listed current and future challenges facing collections professionals:
• Selling the Collections Department on the importance of successful blood drives.
• Retention of highly skilled staff. • Being able to provide Collections staff with
work/life balance.
the Drop - ADRP’s Quarterly Newsletter Winter 2013 / Page 15
• Having the time and resources to provide collections staff with professional development or opportunities.
• Recruitment and retention of donors; changes in criteria for donation.
• Automated technology, computers and online registrations.
• Getting staff to be friendly and engaging with donors, especially with donors who are resistant to converting to automation.
• Lack of efficiency (travel time; need to cut time spent preparing supplies).
• New standards; how to handle difficult situations, such as when a “stick” goes bad or when dealing with anxious donors.
• Right procedure for specific blood type.• Donor conversion and donor retention.• Addressing an aging donor population and
attracting younger replacement donors.• Recognizing the importance of the strategic
direction of the blood center.• For managers it is dealing with less support
staff (administrative and field) due to recent organizational budget cuts. For supervisors it is time to develop professional skills outside of blood operations.
• Right sizing of the staff; cost pressures to have the right number.
• Delivering better service to a shrinking donor pool.• Need to become more efficient with the resources
due to price competition- - there is a huge need to minimize waste.
ConclusionsThe changing environment in the industry coupled
with the results of the survey reinforce ADRP’s desire to remain a valuable and dynamic resource within the blood industry.
One of ADRP’s strategic initiatives is focused on broadening and strengthening our membership. By acting upon the results of the survey, new and expanded educational offerings to blood collection professionals will be offered at the 2013 annual conference.
The survey was conducted from October through December 2012. Additional information is available by contacting Deb Swift, Executive Director at 512.658.9414.
For additonal information on the conference, check out the conference brochure.
2013 ADRP Conference Addresses Educational Gaps for Collection ProfessionalsADRP is constantly evaluating how to improve its services to member blood center colleagues. ADRP has incorporated specific sessions into ADRP Annual Conference to be held May 15-17, 2013 in Scottsdale, AZ to address some of the educational gaps indicated in the recent conducted collections survey.
These topics include:
• Mastering the Storm of Change
• Building a Culture that Values Straight Talk and Rewards Integrity
• The Art of Negotiation
• A Master Class in Teamwork Between Recruitment & Collections
• How to Handle Conflict with Staff: Day of Drive Issues for Collections Supervisors
• Creative Methods to Motivate Collections Staff
• Donor Recruitment and Collections Team Up to Increase Conversion
For additional information on the conference, check out the conference brochure. (click here)
A pint comes out, a pint goes in. That’s likely how many people feel blood donation works. In reality, the blood business is a whole lot more complicated.
The logistics involved in the Michigan Blood network can make heads spin with the amount of work that goes into distributing blood donations to more than 40 hospitals across Michigan, including all of Grand Rapids’ hospitals.
The warehousing and distribution of blood isn’t all that different from food items, said Todd Masters, director of logistics at Michigan Blood.
There are three products that come out of blood donations — red cells, platelets and plasma — and each is perishable. Every year, Michigan Blood issues 120,000 units (pints) of red cells, 21,000 platelets and 35,000 plasma products. Each product is separated from the initial donation and distributed separately.
Frozen plasma lasts a year, red cells make it 42 days, and platelets are done in five days.
“You have to watch them every day,” Masters said of platelets. “You can’t take your eyes off them.”
Making things more challenging is the platelets are separated and tested the first two days, and most hospitals prefer not to use them on the fifth day, leaving a two-day window for use.
To help combat that problem, there’s the Platelet Partners Program, in which hospitals work together to use the platelets on the shelves before they expire. When one hospital sees a batch is on its fifth day, it puts the batch in the network, and a hospital in need speaks up. A courier then drives the platelets from one hospital to the other.
“If someone makes a donation, we want to use it,” Masters said. “This industry is about saving lives and we take that very seriously.”
Unlike most other industries, Michigan Blood can’t just make more blood. It relies on donations from the public. Masters and his team must watch inventory levels, hospital demand and donations to ensure everything is working smoothly. The storage and movement of blood also is FDA regulated.
“There’s no substitute for human blood,” said Meredith Gremel, director of public relations and marketing at Michigan Blood. “You can’t just say, ‘We need more,’ and boost the inventory. And it’s
very match dependent.”Along with a large recruitment process, Masters
oversees 3,700 mobile blood drives and 50 vehicles in a fleet that travels more than 1.3 million miles a year to move blood throughout the state. Even though there’s more than 70 drives a week, the eight distribution centers still run low, especially in mid- to late January, Masters said.
“What we’re feeling right now is the impact from Christmas,” he said. “We see a lag in donations during the holiday season, and now with the flu season, people are sick and can’t donate.”
That brings the need to find new donors. Roughly 37 percent of the population is eligible to donate blood, but only about 5 percent does, Gremel said.
“Some people just aren’t aware of the need,” she said. “Some families are raised with it — the dad comes home and gives a kid his sticker. Then there are a whole bunch who’ve never been exposed to it.”
Gremel calls the 5 percent who donate “unsung heroes” because they’re saving lives every day without anyone knowing it.
According to Masters, high schools and colleges are very important to Michigan Blood. They not only make up about 22 percent of the donations, but also are key in introducing blood donations to a new generation.
Although the blood stays in state, Michigan Blood is one of 20 public umbilical cord banks in the United States and is a participant in the International Be the Match Registry for bone marrow transplants.
“When a mom has a baby, we have the ability to collect stem cells from the umbilical cord, and those can be used to save patients,” Gremel said. “A baby hasn’t even been alive for more than a minute and it’s already saved a life. It just kind of lifts you.”
The bone marrow program at Michigan Blood has matched bone marrow to patients on five continents and hundreds of countries. Masters said Michigan Blood has saved lives across the globe.
“Every industry treats the logistics aspect as life or death,” said Masters. “This really is dealing with life or death.”
For Michigan Blood, Logistics Really is Life or Death
By Pat Evans
In the following passage, Dan “The Blood Man” Eberts of Florida Blood Services walks us through a typical blood supply visualization exercise he uses. This is a great way to illustrate the need for blood and the number of eligible individuals who do not donate when speaking in front of a group of potential donors.
Opening Thoughts: I’m here to talk to you about blood. Usually when I say this people start to get queasy or nervous. Yet, blood is life. None of us would be here if our bodies were not constantly making new blood. As a group, you represent our population, so I would like to do a short blood supply exercise with you.
• If you have blood in your body, please stand.
If some do not stand at first say, “It appears some are not sure if they have any blood.
Ask questions and toss prizes to people who answer correctly: - What is the life span of a red
blood cell in your body? (120 days)
- How much blood does the average man have in his body? (12 pints)
- How much blood does the average woman have in hers? (9 pints)
• If you are not able to donate blood or never have, please sit down.
Among those of you who have donated:
- What is the shelf life of a pint of blood? (42 days)
- How long are donated platelets good for? (5 days)
- How long is fresh frozen plasma good for? (1 year)
• If you have not given blood in the last year, please sit down.
Okay, we have some current donors left standing:- What is the most common
blood type? (O positive)- Which blood type do we need
the most of? (O positive)- Which blood type is the
universal donor? (O negative)- Which blood type has universal
donor plasma? (AB)- Which blood types are best for
donating platelets? (A, B & AB pos)
- Which blood types are often in short supply? (A,B,O negative)
• If you have not donated blood in the past two months, please sit down.
Wow; a select few. Let’s give them a round of applause.
How often can you donate whole blood? (56 days/8 weeks)
How often can you donate platelets? (Every 2 weeks)
How often can you donate a double red cell? (112 days/16 weeks)
Closing thoughts: It seems there is not a blood shortage in our community, but rather a donor shortage. Studies show that only about five percent of the eligible population donates blood, 37 percent could at any one time and 90 percent of us will need to receive blood in our lifetimes if we live to a ripe old age. There are no artificial substitutes for blood. The fact is that it must be on the shelf when any of us or our loved ones need it most. “Paying it forward” is a responsibility that we all share, so I invite you to please give blood regularly. It is truly the “Gift of Life.” Thank you.
Blood Supply Visual Exercise
the Drop - ADRP’s Quarterly Newsletter Winter 2013 / Page 19
“At ADRP you leave your logo at the door while you share ideas and strategies to educate and motivate staff and donors with your peers. Ultimately we all face the same challenges of recruiting and retaining donors for life. By helping each other, we help ourselves!”
Dan “The Bloodman” EbertsCorporate Communications Manager Florida Blood Services
“I have been in the industry for over 30 years and have been both blood center senior management and vendor senior management so I have had the opportunity to work with ADRP in many ways. Regardless of how I work with ADRP it has been a pleasure and a major part of my professional growth.”
Pat Bezjak, Vice President Business Development Donor Dialogue
“The annual ADRP Conference provides the best opportunity for any recruitment professional to fine tune strategies and tactics used in their territory and blood center. Whether you have twenty years of experience or are new to the industry, you’re guaranteed to have a great learning experience at the conference!”
David MontgomerySr. DirectorDonor Recruitment and IT Community Blood Center of the Ozarks
“When you attend an ADRP Conference, you come back to work energized and excited to try out new donor recruitment ideas and strategies picked up during the conference. I always learn something from the sessions, networking and sharing of best practices.”
Carol Brugman Marketing & Communications Specialist Donor Recruitment Blood Systems
What is the biggest challenge your blood center faces?
At South Texas Blood and Tissue Center (STBTC), one of the biggest challenges our recruiters face is our high schools. High schools attribute to about 20 percent of our annual draw, but the challenge is not student participation, it is securing solid date and frequency commitments from the administration. The schools themselves are facing greater challenges with mandatory statewide testing for two different tests, curriculum, and practice testing. The next step for STBTC is to create a way for the blood drive to be a part of the curriculum versus an extra-curricular activity.
Tracy SommerAssistant Director Donor RecruitmentSouth Texas Blood and Tissue Center
QUESTIONANSWER&
The American Red Cross Central Plains Region is experiencing many of the same industry-wide donor recruitment challenges other regions and organizations are dealing with in this day and age. We share the industry issues related to hospital blood management. We are working diligently to manage business strategies that ensure we collect the right type - at the right cost - at the right time - of the right quality - in the right amount. Like so many blood collection agencies, our greatest ongoing challenge is merging our donor contact strategies with our overall business plan to ultimately supply our customers with the specific products they require.
Terri Dunaway, Chief Executive OfficerAmerican Red Cross Mid-America Blood Services Division
Compiled by Heather Roman
Page 24 / the Drop - ADRP’s Quarterly Newsletter Winter 2013
Like many of our counterparts, probably the biggest recruitment challenge our blood center faces is ensuring that we are reaching the right donors at the right time to maximize their donation potential, and then communicating with them through the proper channels to effectively reach as many donors as possible.
Marie S. Clemens, Corporate Director of Communications Miller-Keystone Blood Center
Supplying enough O-negative blood to the hospitals we serve is our biggest challenge. Approximately eight percent of our donor base is O-negative, yet our hospitals demand more than 15 percent of their products be of that type! This impacts most metropolitan areas.
Donald BurghardtRecruitment DirectorBlood Centers of the Pacific
At Carter BloodCare, an aging donor population is at the top of the challenges list. This affects our whole blood and apheresis donors who are likely to become patients in the near future. During the months when schools are in session, we are aggressively pursuing the high school donors which help offset the inevitable loss of our current base. However, we are not keeping pace. Increasing our donor base with new donors in hopes of staying in step with the ones we are losing will be a priority for us this year.
Joyce KleistDirector of Donor RecruitmentCarter BloodCare
the Drop - ADRP’s Quarterly Newsletter Winter 2013 / Page 25
WIN
TER B
UZ
Z..
.Flu, Weather Drain Blood Donation Supplies
- Janice Lloyd, USA TODAY - January 26, 2013
As a particularly strong flu season and frigid weather force many people across the nation to stay bundled up inside, blood banks are reporting donors are canceling appointments and supplies are dropping. While shortages are typically being reported, many blood collection agencies are experiencing low levels in several types of blood and are encouraging people to give blood if they’re healthy. “We like to keep a five- to seven-day supply of all blood types on hand, and we’re under a three-day supply now,’’ says Jim Fox, director of communications at the New York Blood Center. And with bone-chilling temperatures in New York which have fallen into the teens and wind chills
below zero, it makes the situation that much more difficult. “When it’s as cold outside as it’s been here, most people like to stay indoors,’’ Fox says. “But people with leukemia and other cancers don’t have that option. They need transfusions.”
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Agencies are encouraging healthy individuals to give blood.(Photo: Toby Talbot, AP)
IVF Pregnancies Linked to Higher Blood Clot, Artery Blockage Risks
- By Sean Patterson - January 17, 2013
A new study has associated in vitro fertilization (IVF) with an increased risk for blood clots and pulmonary embolism (PE) in the first trimester of pregnancy.
This is in addition to the already higher risk of blood clots seen during a normal pregnancy. The study, published this week in the British Medical Journal, looked at 23,498 women undergoing an IVF pregnancy and compared them to 116,960 women undergoing a normal pregnancy. Researchers found that 4.2 out of every 1,000 women in IVF pregnancies were diagnosed with blood clots, while only 2.5 in every 1,000 of the other women were. The researchers also found that the risks of PE were also higher for women in IVF pregnancies throughout their entire pregnancy. Though the overall risk for PE is low, it is the leading cause of maternal death and researchers stated that it is hard to diagnose.
Page 26 / the Drop - ADRP’s Quarterly Newsletter Winter 2013
Blood Donations from Hong Kong Schools Drop Under New System
- Amy Nip – February 1, 2013
Hong Kong’s new 3+3+4 education system is taking a toll on an unlikely victim: the Red Cross, which says its blood bank is suffering from a drop in donations from secondary school students. Secondary school education was cut from seven to six years under the “3+3+4” reforms, starting in the 2009-2010 academic years; while standard university degrees increased from three to four years. As a result, the amount of blood collected by mobile collection teams at schools dropped last year. University students generally donate blood less often than secondary school students, said Dr. Lee Cheuk-kwong, a consultant
to Hong Kong Red Cross Blood Transfusion. “Among undergraduate students eligible to give blood, less than 10 per cent actually make donations, [whereas] with secondary school students the rate is 15 to 16
percent,” he said. Fortunately the shortfall was made up by an increase in the number of people visiting blood donation centers, leading to a slight increase of 4.4 percent over the previous year.
Non-Invasive Blood Testing System Coming to Libya
- Libya Herald – February 2, 2013
A blood-testing device that can quickly take measurements, including hemoglobin levels and pulse rate, without the use of needles will soon be used at blood donation centers across the country. Pronto-7, the handheld device made by American firm Masimo, will reduce patient discomfort and risks of infection, in a country where medical centers have a poor hygiene record. “The Pronto-7’s accuracy, portability and ease-of-use, helps clinicians protect donors
from unintentional harm,” said Dr. Nurideen Abdulhamid Dagman, Minister of Health and former director of the Benghazi Central Blood Bank. “With the use of advanced technologies such as the Pronto-7, Libya is demonstrating its commitment to patient safety.” Without the use of needles, Pronto-7 will reduce infection risks, a threat which prevents many patients from choosing to undergo minor operations.
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Luk Wing-kuen from hip-hop duo FAMA gives blood on World Blood Donor Day.(Photo: David Wong)
the Drop - ADRP’s Quarterly Newsletter Winter 2013 / Page 27
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ADRP Offers Support Year-RoundGET POTENTIAL DONORS THINKING ABOUT DONATING BLOODWith the DRM Touch, you can easily use multiple communication channels to market to prospective donors…even better; you can do it in their preferred language!
“We selected DRM Touch, because of Donor Dialogue’s ability to customize and translate portions of its system to French and Dutch to meet our needs.” Jan Rymenams, Project Manager, Belgian Red Cross-Flanders
Contact us to learn more about donor prospecting. 800.516.1804 | [email protected]