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Blood Center Volunteers are Vital to Life

By Kirby Winn
Director of Public Relations
Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center

For Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center (MVRBC), volunteers are vital to life!

The Blood Center, based in Davenport, is the exclusive provider of blood and blood components to all hospitals in the Quad Cities region and serves a total of 88 hospitals in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, and Wisconsin. Whether giving blood as a volunteer donor, serving as a Blood Drive Coordinator, or even delivering blood to a local hospital, volunteers are the lifeblood of MVRBC’s operations.

Locally, hospitals in the Quad Cities region transfuse approximately 20,000 units of blood every year. Volunteers support this mission in a variety of ways:

Volunteer blood donors give whole blood, platelets, or double red cell donations at MVRBC Donor Centers and mobile blood drives. Giving whole blood takes about 45 minutes to one hour for all steps in the donation process (registration, screening, donation, and spending time in the post-donation canteen).

Platelet and double red cell donations involve equipment that separates blood components and then collect only the needed component(s) while returning the remaining blood components to the donor. This process can take 90 minutes to two hours, or more, depending on the donation procedure.

Blood Drive Coordinators volunteer to organize a blood drive at their office, school, civic organization, or place of worship. Coordinating a blood drive involves working with an MVRBC Donor Relations Consultant to choose a date and location for the blood drive and then using tools provided by the Blood Center to recruit donors and meet the collection goal set for their blood drive.

Donors and Blood Drive Coordinators are vitally important to the blood supply, but so are the volunteers who serve in other ways. From assisting donors to delivering lifesaving products to hospitals or helping with administrative tasks behind the scenes, volunteers perform a wide range of important roles for the Blood Center. MVRBC has volunteer positions in the areas of Operations, Support, and Outreach.

Operations positions range from delivering products to hospitals, registering donors at MVRBC Donor Centers, or assisting in the MVRBC laboratory or product distribution area.

Support positions include making calls to remind donors of upcoming appointments, preparing donor recruitment materials for blood drives, filing, and general office support.

Outreach positions involve representing the Blood Center in the community, especially by assisting donors with refreshments at our Donor Centers and mobile blood drives.

Blood Center volunteers are often retirees who are looking for new ways to give back to the community. MVRBC’s Volunteer Services Department provides orientation and training for all positions and offers flexible hours to suit the volunteer’s schedule. To learn more, visit www.bloodcenter.org/volunteer or call Kay Parch, Manager, Volunteer Services, at (563) 823-4112 or write her at kparch@mvrbc.org.

Donors needed this May!

MVRBC reminds those eligible to give blood that the month of May is a critical time for the blood supply. By mid-May, the rate of blood donation will decrease as the school year, and MVRBC’s schedule of high school and college blood drives, comes to an end. Additional whole blood and platelet donations will help ensure an adequate blood supply for local hospitals through this summer’s first holiday weekend.

To thank those who come to give blood this time of year, everyone who registers to donate at MVRBC Donor Centers (May 14 – June 3) or mobile blood drives (May 21 – June 3) will receive a voucher good for MVRBC’s “Give to Life” T-shirt, featuring a retro red, white, and blue design.

To schedule an appointment to give blood at an MVRBC Donor Center or mobile blood drive, call (563) 359-5401, find blood drive information online at www.bloodcenterimpact.org, or schedule via the Blood Center IMPACT app, available on iTunes or Google Play (see www.bloodcenter.org/app for info).

About Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center

Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center (MVRBC) is the exclusive provider of blood products and services to 88 hospitals in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin, including Genesis Health System and UnityPoint – Trinity hospitals. The Blood Center is based in Davenport, Iowa, where MVRBC’s testing, processing and primary distribution center produces transfusable blood component products from more than 200,000 whole blood and platelet apheresis donations each year. For more information, see www.bloodcenter.org.

About Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center

Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center (MVRBC) is the exclusive provider of blood products and services to 86 hospitals in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin, including Genesis Health System and UnityPoint – Trinity hospitals. The Blood Center is based in Davenport, Iowa, where MVRBC’s testing, processing and primary distribution center produces transfusable blood component products from more than 200,000 whole blood and platelet apheresis donations each year. For more information, see www.bloodcenter.org.

Kirby Winn is Director of Public Relations at the Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center. For more information please visit their website at www.bloodcenter.org.