Guidelines for Bloodmobile Blood Drives

Guidelines for
Bloodmobile
Blood Drives
Blood Drive Coordinator Responsibilities
Thank you for volunteering to be a part of Lane Blood Center’s (LBC) life-saving
mission! Your life-saving contribution makes a big difference in our community
and is the foundation of our promise: Ordinary People. Extraordinary Gifts.
Dedicated Blood Drive Coordinators are the key to successful blood drives.
They plan and organize the blood drive. They recruit, educate donors and
encourage people to donate.
Although many people are aware that blood plays an important part in
some medical procedures, few realize that a patient’s life often depends on a
transfusion. To find enough blood for all those in Lane County who need it,
we must rely on volunteer donors to give blood on a regular basis.
We know you understand the significance of the commitment your group
made when it agreed to host a blood drive. To meet the needs of our hospitals,
LBC must draw approximately 80 units each day. About 40% of the units we
collect come from the bloodmobile. When you schedule a blood drive, we are
depending on you to find enough donors to fill your appointment sheet. If
too few donors are scheduled or a drive is cancelled, we must struggle to find
the blood elsewhere. If you are having difficulty recruiting enough donors, let
us know and we will try to help you. If you need to cancel your drive, please
contact your LBC representative as soon as possible so we can attempt to find
another group to host a blood drive in your place.
It is a challenge to organize a successful blood drive and we don’t expect you
to do it alone. Your LBC representative will help you at any point during your
planning process. Just let us know what we can do.
At a minimum, it takes at least a month to plan a successful blood drive. However,
we believe our 6 week program offers the most efficient organizational plan,
and suggested steps for this program are included in this packet.
Thank you again for your time and commitment.
Important Information About Donating
The accompanying brochure, BASIC REQUIREMENTS FOR BLOOD DONORS, gives
general donation guidelines. Please post or circulate it with your appointment
sheet. Prospective donors with questions regarding their specific health history
or medication should call 541-484-9111 to talk to a nurse.
Donors should be prepared to spend an hour for their appointment. After they
fill out a brief health history, a nurse will ask them questions about past illnesses
and current medications and will check their iron level, pulse, temperature and
blood pressure. Then the donors will spend 10-12 minutes in the chair for the
actual donation process. At the end of the procedure, they are asked to stay
and relax for a few minutes while having cookies and juice.
Common Reasons for Deferral
Not eating a high protein meal within 4 hours before donating
Cold or flu symptoms in the last week
Antibiotics for infection in the past week
Tattoos or any body piercing within 12 months not performed in an
Oregon licensed facility or medical doctor’s office
Travel to malarial areas within 12 months
Serious illness or major surgery in the past 6 months
Remind All Donors to Bring PICTURE I.D.
or LBC Donor Card!
Scheduling
The Lane Blood Center (LBC) bloodmobile is available to visit Lane County sites
seven days a week. Each trip is usually planned for a three hour period during
which we can draw seven to eight donors per hour. Appointment times are
assigned in order to keep a smooth flow of donors.
You need approximately 21 people willing and eligible to donate during the
three-hour period and we suggest you have several additional donors willing
to fill in at the last minute if some individuals are unable to donate. Preregistration is essential to determine if you have enough donors to make the
trip feasible. Should you have 28 or more signed up, more time will be required.
Call LBC to determine if the blood drive can be extended.
An appointment sheet, promotional posters and other information will
be mailed to you at the beginning of the month prior to your event. When
entering names on the sheet, please use full name, including middle initial;
date of birth is optional but helpful. Return a copy (by fax, email or mail) of the
appointment schedule to LBC at least 48 hours prior to the mobile visit.
Please notify us as soon as possible, but NO LATER THAN one week in advance,
if you need to cancel or reschedule. Lane Blood Center is responsible for
collecting a specified amount of blood each day, and must adjust its donor
center collections if schedules change.
Bloodmobile Site Requirements
Easy access to the parking area for the bloodmobile (no tight corners,
narrow alleys, etc).
Level parking space near your building, but away from doorways and
windows as the mobile is powered by a (noisy) diesel generator.
Area that will accommodate the mobile which is 33’ long, 12’ high.
Registration and Refreshment Areas
Reserve indoor areas as near as possible to where the bloodmobile is parked.
Adequate lighting and heat/air conditioning are important. The area and
furniture should be clean and quiet with adequate room for the donors to
register and wait.
The following are needed for each area:
REFRESHMENTS
1 table
several chairs
rest rooms nearby
Note: The refreshments and
registration areas may share
the same space.
REGISTRATION
2 six-foot tables:
1 for registrar
1 for filling out questionnaire
4 chairs
Electrical outlet for computer and
printer close to registration table
waste basket
Prior to the Blood Drive
If your group is hosting its first blood drive, an LBC staff member will need to
visit the location to perform a brief site inspection. You will be contacted to set
up a convenient time for you or another representative to meet with our staff
member.
On the day of the Blood Drive
The bloodmobile will arrive 30 minutes prior to the first appointment time (or
45 minutes if a first-time blood drive). Please have someone to meet our staff
to verify location and to help answer any questions.
It is important that you (or another representative) be either at the blood drive
site during the entire event OR that we have a phone number so that we may
contact you should the need arise.
Refreshments
After giving blood, donors will be asked to relax for 10-15 minutes while they
drink some juice and have a snack.
Fruit juices and water are provided by LBC
Please provide one or more of the following:
cheese & crackers, fruit, cookies, small sandwiches, etc.
Blood Drive Coordinator 6 Week Plan
4-6 weeks before drive:
Talk with your LBC representative to review your last drive and discuss
any concerns or changes.
Start brainstorming a recruitment plan with your LBC representative.
Receive your blood drive packet with appointment sheet, date, times
and number of spaces agreed upon by LBC and your group.
Decide how you’d like LBC to assist your group. (Refer to Resources
Available Upon Request.)
4 weeks before drive:
Decide on your recruitment goals and strategy.
Start recruiting donors!
2 weeks before drive:
Ask LBC for any assistance you need at this time.
Your appointment sheet should be nearly full (less than ¼ of the spaces
open).
Call or email your LBC representative for help in recruiting for your
drive if your appointment sheet is not full or you need any help.
1 week before drive:
Expect a call or email from your LBC representative to verify details
(parking spaces, room reservation, number of donors expected, time
of arrival and snacks; if you cannot provide refreshments, please inform
your LBC representative so that we can supplement what you supply.).
Let us know if anything has changed, or if you have any questions or
concerns.
2-3 days before drive:
Finalize the appointment sheet and fax (541.484.6976), email cwong@
laneblood.org or [email protected]) or mail (2211 Willamette
Street, Eugene 97405) it to LBC.
1-2 days before drive:
Make reminder calls and/or send emails to all donors with
appointments.
Let your LBC representative know if you are unable to make calls and
we will be happy to help.
Day of blood drive:
Cone off Bloodmobile parking area (as necessary)
Unlock and set up registration/refreshment area. (We can assist, just let
us know!)
Provide snacks.
Day of blood drive continued:
Meet the Bloodmobile staff.
Attend your blood drive
Display the appointment sheet for your next blood drive encouraging
donors to sign up early.
*LBC also requests that you meet with a representative once a year to discuss past
drives, create a schedule for the year and discuss any ideas or questions you may have.
Resources Available Upon Request
Generic 8 ½ x 11 posters
Special posters (8 ½ x 11 or 11 x 17, tailored to fit your group)
Fliers (full, ½, or ¼ sheets)
Banners
Postcards
Appointment cards
Brochures
LBC representative to speak to your group
Help with recruiting donors by phone
Help making reminder calls the day before your drive
Email templates
Blood drop costume
Just let us know what you need
and we’ll make sure you get it!
Remind All Donors to Bring PICTURE I.D.
or LBC Donor Card!
Questions?
Call Lane Blood Center at 541.484.9111
or email questions to [email protected]
2211 W
Eugene
2211 Willamette Street
Eugene, OR 97405
541.484.9111
laneblood.org