How to Recruit Blood Donors

Bloodmobiles make it possible for medical teams to collect life-saving donations throughout the local community. Whether it is visiting a local office park or setting up at a health fair, bloodmobiles focus on recruiting new donors, as well as offering existing donors an easy and convenient way to donate blood.

In order for a blood drive to be a success, it is important to focus on how you will recruit the highest number of donors possible. By employing one or all of the following tips, you can help ensure that your next blood drive reaches more local donors. This will help increase contributions to the blood supply for your community.

1: Advertise Well in Advance

Long before your blood drive, it is important to advertise the event. Begin advertising at least a month in advance. This will help give you the best chance of reaching a large number of potential donors.

You can advertise your event using a few of the following strategies:

• Create flyers and posters for the event and hand them out around town
• If the blood drive is taking place in conjunction with another event, make sure to request some marketing space on the event’s advertising
• Promote the event on social media channels
• Distribute an email about the event to previous donors who have opted in for communications
• Ask local offices and universities to share the blood drive event information with their staff and students

The more outlets you can find to advertise the blood drive, the better chance you have of increasing attendance. Get creative and don’t be shy when asking for help.

2: Promote Awareness About Updated Eligibility Requirements

In many cases, potential donors will not try to donate blood because they believe they are ineligible. This is often due to a lack of understanding about current eligibility requirements.

For example, in the past, those who had recently gotten a tattoo were not eligible to donate blood. However, today, as long as a tattoo was from a licensed shop, you’re still eligible to donate.

Additionally, the details of requirements can become convoluted. Someone who recently traveled out of the country might falsely believe they are ineligible to donate when in reality, there are many countries that won’t disqualify a donor.

Create clear materials around eligibility requirements to help bust these myths. According to the American Red Cross, whole blood donation requirements include being in good health and feeling well, being at least 16 years old in most states, weighing at least 110 pounds, and not exceeding donations more than every 56 days.

Additionally, the American Red Cross put together a helpful video, debunking the most common myths around eligibility requirements. By promoting the actual requirements, you can help increase the number of people who donate blood.

3: Partner with Local Businesses

Running a blood drive is much easier when you plan the event in partnership with a local business. Whether it is visiting a large corporate office or setting up in a business park, when you work with local companies to host events you will tap into a group of people who are already on site.

Additionally, many companies are willing to help you advertise to their employees and will often even provide incentives for their employees to donate. This can make it much easier to recruit donors leading to a more successful event.

4: Focus on Creating a Comfortable Environment

In many cases, people are hesitant to donate blood because of their own phobias around the donation process. It can be intimidating, particularly for first-time donors to make the choice to donate blood.

Creating a comfortable, inviting environment can go a long way in reaching donors who are otherwise nervous. Focus on designing a bloodmobile with comfortable seating and extra amenities. Make sure when advertising the event to highlight patient comfort to encourage individuals to envision a pleasant experience rather than a scary one.

5: Make Donating Convenient

The easier it is for someone to donate blood, the more likely they are to do it. Focusing on creating an efficient, convenient process can help increase the number of donors.

The following are all examples of how you can create an improved experience:

• Use a bloodmobile to visit donors in their own communities and workplaces
• Use technology to make the check-in process faster and paperwork free
• Allow donors to schedule online to reduce wait times
• Look for ways to speed up the workflow, allowing staff to operate more efficiently

Design a Bloodmobile with Summit Bodywork

If you are interested in recruiting new blood donors, a bloodmobile is a perfect way to reach more individuals in your community. A bloodmobile allows you to bring the donation process to donors right where they live and work.

And, a big part of encouraging more donations begins with creating a comfortable space for donors. At Summit Bodyworks, we can help you create a bloodmobile that features the latest in technology and patient comforts. Our goal is to help you create a bloodmobile that increases donations, allowing you to keep your blood banks stocked.

Want to learn more about our work? Check out a few of our recent customer builds. We are here to help you with everything from designing the bloodmobile to adding a custom wrap. 

Reach out today for a quote. We look forward to helping you!

Established in Colorado, Summit Bodyworks is on the forefront of innovation and customer service for vehicle manufacturing and upfitting. Whether you’re looking for all-electric, hybrid, or gas-powered options, Summit Bodyworks is your one-stop-shop for design, manufacturing, and upfitting of trucks, vans, specialty vehicles, and fleets.