Kaunas Blood Donation Center

On September 16-22, 2007, the Kaunas Blood Donation Centre in Lithuania held a Blood Collector’s Celebration Week. We extended sincere gratitude to all employees who work so effortlessly every day to collect blood from our donors. They make it possible for us to provide quality and safe blood components to our Lithuanian hospitals. With the help of our donors, blood and its components are available to save patients’ lives.

Our company, Blood Donation Centre Ltd., is unique due to its historical past. It was founded in 1941, which makes our country among one of the first to provide blood services. We kicked-off our Celebration with a coffee break, announced the various Celebration Week activities to our employees and distributed Blood Collectors Week lapel pins which our staff wore all week.

All in attendance enjoyed our Celebration, which included a cake decorated with our Blood Centre’s logo, treats, music and a joyful atmosphere.

Northern California Community
Blood Bank

We incorporate a theme for the week with daily events which includes the distribution of t-shirts, BCW pins, certificates, and daily prizes! The directors each signed a personal note to every staff member expressing their appreciation for the jobs well done. The goal is to really show appreciation for every aspect of blood collection and distribution. We also post informational posters and distribute "fun facts" about the history of blood collection.

"Carnival" was the theme this year, with daily themes like "Monkey Business" and "Clowning Around". The committee actually served and delivered a barbecued hot dog lunch to on-site and mobile crews¬Ödressed as clowns! We distributed home made caramel corn to every employee, surprise treats each day, pizza lunch for everyone, and prizes every hour on the hour on Friday!

NCCBB really does it up big during Blood Collector's Week. We're glad to have the opportunity to put the spotlight on our excellent staff!

LifeSource, Chicagoland’s Blood Center

LifeSource, Chicagoland’s Blood Center, promoted this event with both their staff and donors. They started in August with an introduction in their monthly newsletter that kicked off the week and began generating awareness and momentum with their staff. Banners and posters were posted at their fixed sites and they included promotional statements on their mobile blood drive posters. They also sent postcards promoting Blood Collectors Week to first-time donors.

Recognizing Staff

During the week of the event, LifeSource provided cakes and cupcakes to each of their fixed and mobile site locations and held staff recognition events. At these events, senior management representatives from across the company participated to thank and recognize staff for their hard work and important contributions. The representative also presented each staff member with the commemorative Blood Collectors Week lapel pin and recognition certificate.

"Blood Collectors Week was a morale boost for our team, and a much needed recognition week for the industry,” said Brian Baum, Executive Director of Donor Services at LifeSource. “It was a great opportunity to bring together our collections and recruitment teams and highlight the importance of this profession both internally and externally to our blood center.”

LifeSource also held raffles for Blood Collectors Week promotional items, issued a press release to Chicagoland media outlets to generate public awareness and recognition and incorporated a message on Blood Collectors Week into their telerecruiting scripts. In addition, all donors presenting during Blood Collectors Week were given a Blood Collectors Week sticker showing their support of this important profession with their donation.

Materials Used

LifeSource used several of the template items available on the Blood Collectors Week website, including:

Community Blood Bank
in Lincoln, Nebraska

A highlight for the Community Blood Bank (CBB) in celebrating Blood Collectors Week was their first ever blood donor/recipient meeting. Hosting this reunion was one of the many staff activities CBB planned during this recognition week.

“This was a wonderful opportunity to educate the public on the importance of blood donation and the valuable contribution all blood banking employees make to today’s healthcare,” said Joyce Halvorsen, Public Relations Director for the Community Blood Bank.

Honoring a Donor and Recipient

The recipient was a 12-week premature baby, Jackson Carlson, who received eight pediatric blood transfusions during his three-month stay at Saint Elizabeth Regional Medical Center. The blood donor was Lois Bates, a regular blood donor at Community Blood Bank and a grandmother herself.

Before knowing the blood donor, Jackson’s parents referred to her as their 'Baby’s Angel.' Halvorsen said there wasn’t a dry eye at the donor/recipient reunion, which received widespread media coverage and was attended by the blood center staff.

Celebrating with Staff

On the Friday before the week started, they handed out long sleeve t-shirts with the Blood Collectors Week logo and their blood center tagline “Connecting People, Saving Lives.”

All blood center staff wore their t-shirts on Monday to kick off the week.

They also hung Blood Collectors Week banners, handed out the recognition certificates to all staff members and put out Blood Collectors Week table tents with 'fun blood facts' to promote awareness of blood donation and the importance of blood collection.

Fenwal is a registered trademark of Fenwal, Inc.