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.
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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!
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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.
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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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What is a lifetime?
I don’t mean to get all philosophical on you right off the bat. But really think about it. What is a lifetime? It is hard to say. I was inspired recently by a quote from the Dalai Lama, after he was asked what surprises him the most in life…
He said, “Man. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices his money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present. The result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then he dies having never really lived.”
I remember reading this quote and simply feeling awestruck about how true those words are. Everyday life in a proverbial “daily grind” – going to work, studying for school, paying the bills and so on. I think some people forget to take a second and just look up at the sun, and give grace for being alive. This world isn’t perfect, but when you take a closer look at the simple details in everyday life it sure is beautiful, isn’t it?
What is stopping you?
When it comes to showing appreciation for life, what better way than to donate blood? If you have donated blood before reading this, then take a second to think about where your blood might have gone and who it might have helped. It is almost crazy to think that, in a way, part of you is flowing through someone else. That little pint of blood that you gave could be flowing through the veins of a child going through cancer treatment (and on the road to recovery), all because you decided to take the time out of your busy life to simply give back. It goes beyond the time where the child receives that transfusion for treatment, though. That one blood donation can ultimately be what keeps a person alive. The neat thing is as they grow, and life moves on, there is a little part of you with them.
At Incept, when I’ve talked to first-time blood donors, I really want to convey the following message to them: even if they donate just this one time, they are still producing a lasting, positive impact on someone (or maybe even multiple people) by putting life on pause for a little less than an hour. It makes you think. A regular blood donor is a very rare type of person who is willing to put the rat race on hold or find some extra time to willingly give part of themselves. To me, that is what living is. Living in this life is not just being able to recognize the beauty that surrounds us, but also to recognize when a fellow human being needs help, and answer a noble cause, such as donating blood. Sometimes all that is needed to be asked is, “What is stopping you?”
If you haven’t yet donated blood, what’s stopping you?
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I’ve learned a lot in my past year as a Blood Donor Recruiter here at Incept, proving true the old adage “you learn something new every day.” The blood banking industry is full of facts and statistics that you never would have expected, and it’s continuously changing!
Here’s a list of the top-10 most interesting facts and stats I’ve come across:
- 94% of blood donors are registered voters.
- Blood or plasma that comes from people who have been paid for it cannot be used in human transfusions.
- Most red blood cells can be stored for forty-two days; platelets can be stored for up to five days; plasma can be frozen and saved for a year.
- Thirteen tests (eleven for infectious diseases) are performed on each unit of donated blood.
- More than 38,000 blood donations are needed every day. That’s over 13,870,000 donations each year!
- The most common blood type in the US is O+ (38.4% of Americans share this type). The least common is AB- (Only 0.7% of American share this type).
-
A newborn
baby has about one cup of blood in their body.
- The average adult has about 10 pints of blood in their body.
- There are about one billion red blood cells in two to three drops of blood; for every 600 red blood cells, there are about 40 platelets and 1 white cell.
- It is not uncommon for women of childbearing ages to be slightly iron deficient. 75% of women ages 18 to 44 get only about half of their recommended daily requirement of iron. Don’t worry, though, iron levels vary from day-to-day.
These are just a small sampling of all of the fascinating things I’ve learned about blood and the blood banking industry. What are some fun blood facts or statistics you’ve heard?
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Each Donation = Three Lives Saved
Every day that you come into work, we preach about numbers.
We tell you to watch your numbers or to get your numbers up. A very important number that we educate you about is our unit goal number, but one number we often forget about is the number three. Three is how many lives one unit of blood can save.
From the very first day I started working at Incept, I knew what we did was important and very special. I’ve been with the company for almost five years now, and it wasn’t until last week that it sank in just how important what we do really is.
I stopped over at my parents’ house to visit, and my mom told me the awful news: our neighbor had to have emergency surgery, and she almost didn’t make it because she lost so much blood. Her surgery required six units of blood! I’ve known my neighbor since the day we moved into the neighborhood, because she had a daughter my age (and we quickly became friends). She is a wonderful person with a heart of gold. She would do anything to help anyone, and, for once, I felt like I was able to help her.
Even though we don’t recruit donors in this area, the impact we can have on someone’s life really hit me hard, because of what we do each and every day. So the next time we preach to you about numbers, remember the number three.
Everyone has a story, mine started with the Carnation Queen beauty pageant.
Ignorance
The thought of donating blood never crossed my mind back in high school. I knew donating could earn the school scholarships, but I guess I just didn’t care. I knew I hated needles; I knew I couldn’t stand the sight of that yucky red stuff in my veins; I knew I was not sitting in an uncomfortable chair while some person I had never met combined all those things into one unfavorable situation. No way! Donating blood was not for me.
The First Time
So why on earth did I try it? I did it for the reason that every young lady ventures out of her comport zone: a pageant. I wanted to impress my fellow contestants and the judges. As I sat in the chair, I suddenly got this “I can do anything” attitude that hid the fact that I was trying to jump out of my skin. The process felt like it took days, due to my fear. It wasn’t a great experience, because I hadn’t eaten yet that day. Plus, I still had to go to work at McDonald’s a few hours afterward. I ended up going home early and sleeping for roughly 24 hours straight.
Incept’s Involvement
After getting a job at Incept, I had a change of heart. After telling donors how easy and helpful donating blood is, I decided to give it another shot myself. I signed up for the blood drive at Kent State Stark, despite all my innate negativity. This time around, my experience was completely the opposite of my first one. I let the phlebotomist know that I was deathly scared of both needles and blood, and he made accommodations to help me cope with my fears.
His name was Bryan. Bryan was talking with me the entire time to ensure that I wouldn’t look down at the needle in my arm. At the end of the donation, I told Bryan that I really wanted pink tape for my arm, so he went around to every station to find it for me.
Happily a Blood Donor
It took me only eight minutes to fill the bag. During the entire process, there wasn’t one negative thought that crossed my mind. Moving forward, I plan on donating my O+ blood every eight weeks.
So tell me… If you are not a donor, what are you afraid of? What has your experience donating blood been like?
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If you’ve never donated blood before, think for just a moment that a part of you can save someone’s life. Literally.
There is no substitute for blood or blood products. Although the industry is feverishly trying to find a way to manufacture supplements, we are years away from that being a reality.
Do you know anyone that has ever suffered from a trauma due to an accident? How about a burn victim? Do you know anyone that has had heart
surgery? An organ transplant? Or a woman who has had complications during childbirth? Know anyone who has had a newborn or premature baby? What about cancer? Leukemia, cancer and other diseases (such as sickle cell anemia) all require blood and blood products to assist patients in their fight against these diseases.
Every two seconds someone needs blood. Consider that deeply. In the two minutes it takes for you to read this article, 60 people in the U.S. need a transfusion. Odds are that someone you know either has had a transfusion or will have a transfusion in their lifetime.
So we know all of this, yet our nation continues to suffer from shortages. Our society is so busy, so connected and so consumed that donating blood rarely crosses our minds or makes it to the top of our to-do lists.
I am hoping our readers will take the time to donate now. Please don’t wait until a loved one needs blood to realize the importance. You can make a difference today!
Please go to http://www.americasblood.org, click Give Blood, enter your zip code and find the nearest blood center to you. Save a life today.
Here at Incept, we like to make sure that our blood donors know how much we appreciate their commitment to helping their communities by
donating blood.
Sometimes, however, we overlook the people who make a difference every day. Phlebotomists are a vital part of any hospital or blood center. They’re the ones who not only draw the blood but care for donors after they’ve donated and make sure that the blood is safely stored until it can be sent to the hospital.
It’s not an easy job! Phlebotomists need to be able to stand the sight of blood and needles – two things that scare most people. They also need good people skills to help their patients feel comfortable and relaxed. A phlebotomist has to keep a level head in tricky situations. If a donor doesn’t feel well, their phlebotomist needs to take charge of the situation and be compassionate. It’s a tough job but one that really makes a difference.
I have the privilege to be able to speak with a lot of donors on a daily basis, as a blood donor recruiter. Oftentimes, I get asked about the things one needs to do to become a phlebotomist. While I myself am not a phlebotomist, I know several people who are and have looked into some of the requirements.
A lot of colleges offer two-year programs in phlebotomy that include both lecture classes and lab classes. You’ll study anatomy and physiology, blood drawing procedures, patient care and other things to help you get ready for your career. After passing your classes and earning your certification, you’ll be certified for three years. You’ll need to keep up with your studies, though, to renew your certification every three years. Once you get the hang of it, however, you should do just fine.
Becoming a phlebotomist is a great way to help patients and your community. You get to work one-on-one with blood donors and have the ability to make their blood donation experience a positive one! So if you don’t mind needles and want a career that will let you help a wide variety of people, take a look at phlebotomy. It’s a profession where gentle hands and a caring heart are always needed!
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