WASHINGTON, D.C. and LAKEWOOD, COLO. – January is National Blood Donor Month. This month is also a time of critical blood shortages because people stop donating due to the holidays, winter colds and snowy conditions. This year remains no different with the added complication of the continuing COVID-19 crisis. Since COVID began, maintaining an adequate blood supply has been a struggle due to gathering restrictions and canceled blood drives at schools, churches and businesses.
Social media remains one way people are staying connected. Chetan Makam, General Manager, Global Blood Center Solutions, says this is why Terumo Blood and Cell Technologies (Terumo) decided to tap the power of social media with ADRP to inspire more people to roll up their sleeves and impact lives.
"One blood donation can help many patients on their journey, and it's critical to offer blood centers the tools they need to help collect this precious resource," says Makam.
Terumo, a medical technology company, supported ADRP, an International Division of America's Blood Centers, with a USD $50,000 grant to produce educational videos to encourage eligible Americans to donate blood regularly. ADRP developed a robust social media and communication toolkit for blood centers worldwide to raise awareness with this grant. And it's working.
- "We have the 'Turn Your Day Around' PSA in rotation, and we use it actively on local TV, cable stations and streaming platforms. The PSA is such great quality that it blends well with all of the big brand commercials on TV. I love that the PSA offers a different spin on donating blood. When we are trying to recruit a generation that wants to know, 'what's in it for them,' this answers that question. Although we hear great anecdotal feedback about the PSA, we are getting data that will show how the spot performs on our cable and streaming platforms," said Theresa Pina, VP of Operations, Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center, Houston, Texas.
- "I feel professionally produced spots like 'Turn Your Day Around' are a HUGE help for The Blood Center. Having well-produced, broadcast-quality spots available gives us another tool to reach new and existing donors. We were able to incorporate the spot in a hurricane preparedness campaign with a local station, a YouTube buy and across all our social platforms," said Paul Adams, Public Relations Manager, The Blood Center, New Orleans, Louisana.
- "We have added them to our YouTube page and included them in our Drive Sponsor resources page. We have received great feedback from our blood drive sponsors who are including them attached to their recruitment emails and on internal video boards," said Amanda Farrell, Director of Recruitment, ConnectLife, Williamsville, New York.
"ADRP continues working to deploy plug-and-play resources that blood centers can use immediately," Carla Peterson, Executive Director, ADRP. "The traditional pool of blood donors is Baby Boomers who are aging. We hope tapping social media will inspire Millennials and Gen Z to step up and donate blood. These generations are known for giving of their time, energy and money to help others. It's gratifying to know the PSAs are helping blood centers around the country recruit donors during this critical time."
All of these resources are available for download and free for use. Find them here.
About Terumo Blood and Cell Technologies
Terumo Blood and Cell Technologies is a medical technology company. Our products, software and services enable customers to collect and prepare blood and cells to help treat challenging diseases and conditions. Our employees around the world believe in the potential of blood and cells to do even more for patients than they do today. TERUMOBCT.COM
About ADRP
ADRP, an International Division of America's Blood Centers, educates and empowers blood banking professionals worldwide who are committed to donor recruitment, donor experience, and donor management by providing a forum for networking, professional development and resource sharing. For more information, visit https://www.adrp.org/.