Nothing!
According to a study published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, patients who received a blood transfusion from within four days of the donation showed responded no differently than patients who received a blood transfusion within the shelf life of 26 days.
A study was done with 100 patients to test the theory that the longer a donation is stored the higher the risk of transfusion-related pulmonary complications. Fifty patients received fresh blood donations and the other fifty received stored blood donations.
The results showed there was no difference in short-term pulmonary, immunologic or coagulation status.
For more information about this study, check out Medpage Today.
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It seems when donating blood, sometimes the longest part can be filling out the paperwork before you donate. While the process can be lengthy, it is definitely a necessity to ensure a constant, safe supply of blood. However, what if there was a way to make this easier and faster? Enter BIO-key’s TruDonor 
biometric identification technology, which allows donors to use their finger to check in.
Oklahoma Blood Institute was one of the first blood centers to start using this technology at a blood drive last week. As donors came to donate, they were able just to use their finger to register, which makes it easier on them, as IDs are no longer needed. Few things are more secure than your own fingerprint.
The technology has been around for years and will allow blood centers to cut down on the duplicate paperwork a donor fills out each time they donate. It also allows for more privacy as blood donors are no longer required to show their driver’s license or Social Security card. An added benefit of this process is that it eliminates the potential for human error.
OBI is not the only blood center that has started to use this technology, and with the convenience and ease of use, more blood centers should begin using this technology in the near future.
What are your thoughts about checking in to donate blood with just your fingerprint?
The need for blood is always high throughout the year.
That is why if you are a blood bank, it is always equally important to have a donor base that is loyally built, engaged and informed of your needs. But did you know that if only one more percent of current and eligible blood donors in America started donating then the issue of blood scarcity would almost vanish? That would help out a lot, considering in the United States and Canada about 43,000 units of blood are needed every day!
At Incept the role of the Conversational Marketing Expert (CME) goes far past that just an ordinary, run-of-the-mill phone representative. Collectively as an organization, not only do we care about our clients’ goals, but we voraciously believe in the healing power that even just one blood donation can bring to someone’s life and beyond. We literally do believe we are the human link between our clients and their donors, and that is why the quality of each conversation we have is so important to us.
Three tips any blood center can use towards setting strong and meaningful appointments.
Quite simply, when it comes to setting meaningful appointments and recruiting blood donors, it really all does lie in the conversations you have with them. Donors should always be recognized for the fact that they have previously donated! A blood donation isn’t just a pint of blood, it is that person’s time they gave up to come in and the consideration they had to even donate in the first place. That being said, here are three tips in guiding any blood center who is recruiting donors that can result in setting even more meaningful appointments that show up and ultimately help save lives.
- Try to schedule appointments for donors within ten days.
At Incept, we have conducted specific tests and have the data that shows that when a blood donor is scheduled within ten days of when we have spoken to them they are much more likely to donate than if they were scheduled past that time frame. Scheduling within ten days keeps the appointment fresh in the donor’s mind and encourages them to pick a feasible and realistic time that is convenient for them to fit into their own agendas in the short-term future.
- Recognize how often they have donated and show appreciation for past donations.
Isn’t it awesome when you get recognition for past good deeds? Everyone can always appreciate a friendly “thank you” and metaphorical pat on the back. Many Conversational Marketing Experts (CMEs) will incorporate a donor’s total number of donations into their calls to really emphasize the fact that each donation is appreciated and that they are an integral part of their local blood bank’s success. Simply showing appreciation like this makes the donor instantly feel good about what they are doing and gives them the drive and self-awareness of their role as a blood donor, making them more likely to donate.
Our results come directly from the quality of conversations we make an effort to have each and every day. Anyone can read a script, and anyone that is being read a script over the phone can usually tell. People like feeling like they are talking to another human being and not a salesperson or telemarketer. Before diving into asking a donor for a blood donation, genuinely ask them how their day is. Do you hear a dog barking in the background? Ask them what kind of dog they have. It all comes down to being professionally personable and finding quality common ground with the donor. It really does go a long way and makes the conversation and appointment setting process enjoyable for both the donor and the Conversational Marketing Expert (CME) or respective blood donor recruiter.
All of these tips can be used by any blood bank or center needing advice on recruiting. Please feel free to share and distribute this information.
What other helpful blood donor recruitment tips can you think of when it comes to setting appointments for donors to donate?
Image Credit: http://www.beltina.org
Did you know January is declared National Blood Donor Month? Started in 1970 as a way to give recognition to the millions of donors that take time from their busy lives to make a life-saving blood donation. January was selected as the month to honor donors as it is when donations are needed the 
most. With busier schedules due to the Holidays and the colder weather causing for more donors to get sick or not want to leave their toasty warm homes, there is a decrease in donations and with the weather changes leading to more accidents, blood is needed more than ever.
You need to make sure you are doing your part and donate this month if you are eligible! Encourage others to come with you and donate as well. Your donation is always needed, but now more than ever! Make sure you are doing your part this month!
For more information on National Blood Donor Month or to schedule an appointment to donate blood, just check with your Local Blood Bank!
Thank you to all the blood donors out there, you are truly a lifesaver!
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While out scouring the airwaves and surfing the dialer board for blood donors – as not just a blood donor recruiter, but a Conversational Marketing Expert (CME) at Incept - one of the things I learned very quickly about donating blood was how it can save the lives of up to three people. At the very least, a unit of blood is enough to make the lives of three people who need it more comfortable.
Whenever I try to describe the amount of blood taken during a simple whole blood donation, I often compare it to a small juice box or carton of chocolate milk. I say that because, when first time donors think of giving blood, usually I can hear the apprehension in their voices as they give the impression that they are visualizing an enormous amount of blood is going to be taken. In reality, like I said above, it is just 500 milliliters of blood or, for comparison, just about the size of a small box of juice.
What is stopping you from donating?
Even though donating blood can consist of taking time out of a day off from work, donating blood between classes, driving to the donor center and many other small steps before an actual donation takes place, the thing that last on beyond all those steps is the fact that someone is being helped as a final result of all the efforts made.
A whole blood donation is quite possibly one of the easiest blood donations one can do. It is called a whole blood donation because every part of the blood is taken and nothing is initially divided or separated during the donation process, you literally are donating it in whole form. When it comes to red cells from that donation, those can go to help people who are going through surgeries or victims of trauma situations, as a red blood cell’s main function is to transport oxygen from the lungs to cells all throughout our bodies via our blood stream. The plasma that is donated can also go to a wide variety of patient needs. Plasma-derived therapies create treatments for a range of rare and oftentimes genetic-based diseases, including hemophilia, primary immunodeficiency, and alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, as well as other medical conditions such as burns and electrical shock. When it comes to platelets, patients who need them most are generally undergoing chemotherapy or an organ transplant and have weakened immune systems and aren’t able to fight the illness as adequately. Platelets‘ (also called white blood cells) main objective is to take out foreign germs, viruses and other infections that can cause sickness. That is why when they receive platelets in the form of therapeutic treatments their lives really are improving because someone donated.
The above are just a few examples of how one simple whole blood donation and a little less than an hour of time can drastically improve the life of someone. When it comes to supporting blood donations I think I’m going to start bringing back the mantra:
If you haven’t donated – or it has been a while – what’s stopping you?
Image Credit: http://bucultureshock.com
“Fear doesn’t exist anywhere except in the mind.” – Dale Carnegie
Stacey stormed down her apartment stairs in a frantic, frenzied matter full of commotion. Reaching into her pocket and quickly pulling out her cell phone, the quick gasp and bewildered look on her face were enough to convey an urgent sense of tardiness. Rushing down the rugged sidewalk towards her car, she started to feel a sense of apprehension about what lay ahead in the next hour or so. But, hastily, she climbed into her hatchback and pressed onwards.
How do you overcome your fear?
Stacey suffers from a phobia but not just any phobia. She has been dealing with Trypanophobia (the fear of pins/needles) for a while now, but was inching closer and closer to fully embracing and conquering her fear. Shots as a kid were always horrible. She even seemed to stare at her own grandmother with cautious perception while she knitted. Whatever the root cause, Stacey was absolutely horrified of needles.
It wasn’t until she saw that her college campus was holding a local blood drive that she decided she had to donate. She ultimately couldn’t keep living in fear of something so small… well, not small to her anyways. You see, Stacey’s mother was recuperating and in remission after an enduring battle with breast cancer. She reminisced about the times where she thought her mother wouldn’t make it and remembered hearing about how many platelet and red cell transfusions her mother constantly had to undergo in dealing with the effects of chemotherapy. So after her photography class one day when she saw a flyer promoting a blood drive in the nearby student union. Something inside her just clicked, and she knew it was the right way to not only conquer her fear but give back to someone who might be in the same situation her and her family once were.
As she pulled up to the student union, the caterpillars that were churning in her stomach earlier had gone through their metamorphosis and were now over-sized butterflies flapping up a good amount of anxiety within Stacey. “What if I pass out? What if I get scared and nervous and throw up? What if it is more painful than I expected?” she thought, frightened and aloud. She was so close though now, she just couldn’t give in to the fear of a tiny needle poke.
The last time Stacey felt this nervous she couldn’t remember. After making her way inside, filling out a detailed health questionnaire and having her vital signs checked she was on deck to donate blood for the first time. A smiling woman in medical scrubs came over. “Are you ready, dear?” she politely asked. Stacey just nodded her head and was lead to an open chair. Her pulse was pounding so loud at this point. She even heard one of the English professors in attendance start to quote The Tell-Tale Heart. The nurse who had led her back approached once again, this time with the dreaded needle in hand ready to extract Stacey’s blood. “You can look away dear. This won’t take long at all. I’ll count to three,” she said. Stacey instantly grimaced and covered her eyes, looking in the opposite direction. She was so scared she didn’t even hear the nurse count. “Is it in yet? I’m ready,” Stacey said, her hoodie’s sleeve still covering her eyes.
As she looked down and saw her left arm with the needle in it, she came to terms with things. “I thought you said you were going to count to three?” she asked the nurse. “I did! You didn’t hear me?” the nurse laughed. It was nothing like what Stacey expected – just a poke for about a second, not a huge gaping wound or a bout of excruciating trauma. It was nothing but a little, tiny, almost pain-free pinch. Stacey thought it was even crazier how fast the process was! She donated whole blood and was done with her donation in about ten minutes.
As she walked out of the makeshift donation area, she started smiling and almost blushed, as she thought herself quite silly and yet proud for overcoming her fear head-on. The best part wasn’t even the free Chipotle gift card she got from donating but the fact that she was going to help another girl’s mom going through breast cancer to beat it. To her, that was awesome.
It goes to show you that sometimes the fears and misconceptions we carry about things are really nothing more than smoke and mirrors.
We are having a blood drive here at Incept today! However, aside from just donating blood, tell me about a time when you had to overcome your fear and face it head-on? Did you resolve your fear? What did you learn?
Image Credit: http://bekahstorey.files.wordpress.com
It seems like every day I work I see a new face, so I wanted to take the time to explain how it pays to be a lifesaver.
You learn in training about blood types and how many lives you can save by scheduling just a single blood donation. We feel that what you do each and every day to saves lives deserves to be rewarded.
We have a program called the Lifesaver Program, in which you earn points for every donation you schedule. Your points determine which level you are and what reward you will receive. You get rewarded at levels, 3, 5, 7, 9 , 12, 15 and 20.
Prizes include pens, coffee mugs, t-shirts, dress shirts, binders, carry-on bags and even a mini vacation! Once you reach a new level, you also get a sticker indicating which level you are, so everyone can see just how dedicated you are to saving lives.
Be proud of what you do, and always challenge yourself to get to that next level.
Image Credit: Byron Katie
My adrenaline was still rushing from the Steelers’ Super Bowl XL victory when I showed up to our blood drive on that Monday afternoon.
Ever since high school, I had volunteered to help serve snacks, but I’d never actually donated blood before. However, as a relatively new college student and a thrilled football fan, I decided that it was time for me to make my first donation. Little did I know that by donating that January day, I would get to meet Big Ben, the Steelers’ championship quarterback…
The donation process got off to a great start. My phlebotomist was a Seahawks fan, so we exchanged a few friendly. Everything was going smoothly, but just as I finished filling the donation bag, my feet started to get cold and my vision became just a little fuzzy. I could slowly feel myself passing out.
Sure enough, about seven seconds later, I was out cold in the donation bed.
According to a friend, I was only out for a few seconds, but during that time, I had a full-length dream that Big Ben and I were at a coffee shop talking about the season, the big game, and other random topics that best friends normally talk about. It felt like our conversation lasted for hours, and, needless to say, when I woke up, I was a little heartbroken that it wasn’t real.
Maybe I didn’t technically meet Ben, but it sure felt like it at the time. The good news is that although my first blood donation experience wasn’t perfect, it didn’t deter me from coming back and trying again. Nowadays I make sure to eat a good, iron-rich meal and drink plenty of fluids prior to my appointments. During the donation process, I recline my chair and keep a drink nearby.
Today, several years later, I still have a great first-donation story to share. I’m happy to report that I’ve made several more successful donations since that day, and I’ve yet to rendezvous with Big Ben again!
Share It NET!
We’re finally Sharing It! A few weeks ago, the “Share it. Know it. Own it. Repeat.” subcommittee rolled out Incept’s very first internal electronic message board, appropriately named “Share It NET.” If you haven’t already begun incorporating Share It NET into your daily routine, now is the time to start! The intranet displays all sorts of new and relevant information, from program-related changes and “tips of the day” to internal news and updates about Incept-specific events.
Now, if you miss a day or two of work, you no longer have to worry about relying on paper memos to catch up on what you missed. You no longer have to worry about accidentally throwing a memo away. Share It NET stores all important company information, and it is accessible with just a click of your mouse! A link to the Share It NET can be found at the top of your livestats page, and there are separate pages for Incept Saves, Incept Results and Incept Internal updates.
If there is anything specific that you would like to see posted on the intranet, please let us know! If you have any special tips, tricks or FYIs related to a particular program, Share It with a supervisor or coach so that they can submit it to be posted. And, of course, if you have any questions or suggestions for improvement, Share It with anyone on the “Share It. Know It. Own It. Repeat.” subcommittee.
We listened when you told us that communication needed improved, and we’re still listening for ways to get even better!
Image Credit: http://5goldenrings.wordpress.com
Recruiting blood donors can be a very challenging job, but the rewards save hundreds of lives every day.
I often think of what I could be doing with my education, experience and skills as a manager, if I was not working at Incept. I imagine that I could be working for a company that produces some sort of consumable product or provides a specific service. The main driver behind these types of companies would most likely be based on making money. I imagine that I would feel successful through creating more revenue for that company. Essentially, making more widgets than yesterday would impact the company’s worth.
However, my work at Incept has been completely different. Success is defined by reaching blood unit goals with community blood centers across the nation. Without the work we do at Incept, community blood centers that we work with would fall short in their efforts to supply blood to their area hospitals. Yes, it is true that many blood donors go in to donate on their own, but we encourage many more to schedule appointments and commit to saving the lives of patients in their local area.
When I leave work every day, I know I made a difference.
Everyone at Incept needs to think about that when leaving work for the day and when you come in for your next shift. Having an ultimate purpose is one of the most rewarding qualities you can gain in life.
Photo Credit: TopNews
If you ask a blood donor when they started donating blood, a lot of them will tell you that their first
Like most teenagers, whenever a blood drive came to Minerva High School I was more than happy to sign up!
donation was at their high school blood drive.
Why there? Let’s be honest. While it’s always a good feeling to help out, when you’re that age the real reason you sign up for a blood drive is because it gets you out of class for an hour or so.
I know this, of course, because I was one of those kids.
Oh sure, I liked knowing that I was helping someone out somewhere. But mostly, I wanted a good excuse to skip Algebra and the first few minutes of Gym. It’s been more than five years since I graduated, and I’ve been donating regularly ever since.
What is it that keeps me going back for more, you ask?
After graduation, I went straight into nursing school, and the first class I signed up for was Anatomy and Physiology. Our professor was a huge advocate of donating blood and encouraged that same passion in his students. I learned a lot in that class, but the lesson that stuck with me the most was how much of an impact one blood donation really has.
One blood donation has the potential to help three people. By centrifuging that one pint of blood, doctors are able to use the plasma, platelets and red blood cells separately to treat their patients. If you’re anything like me, hearing that each blood donation is practically a three-for-one deal, you might think that we must not need to donate terribly often to keep the blood supply at a safe level. On the contrary, you’d be amazed at how quickly hospitals go through blood.
On average, 50 units of blood are used to treat victims of car accidents, whereas someone undergoing a bone marrow transplant might use 120 units of platelets and 20 units of whole blood. It might take several blood drives to collect enough blood for each recipient, and nine times out of ten the blood someone receives comes from donors in the recipient’s area.
I’ve been fortunate enough that neither I nor a loved one have ever needed a transfusion, but after seeing how quickly hospitals go through blood and how few people actually donate, how could I not want to help out?
I may not get to skip class anymore, but I still like to give blood whenever I can. Additionally, through my work at Incept, as a blood donor recruiter, I’m able to help other donors find blood drives in their area. It’s something in which I believe very strongly, and I try to pass that enthusiasm on to others. I guess you could say that I went from being a blood donor of convenience to a donor of dedication.
What made you start donating blood?
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Nothing!
