My Day at a Red Cross Blood Drive: Sandy Habib

By Sandy Habib, Volunteer

The American Red Cross urges people to share their good health and resolve to give blood regularly, beginning in January with National Blood Donor Month. Extreme winter weather in some parts of the country and seasonal illnesses often make it difficult for the American Red Cross to maintain a sufficient blood supply at this time of year. Healthy individuals are urged to give now. 

It’s widely known that the American Red Cross is in continuous need of blood donations. Winter, however, is an especially challenging time for the Red Cross to meet its blood demands for many reasons. Regular donors are often busy with the holidays and travel plans. Harsh winter weather and widespread cases of the flu can also be obstacles. The fact is, though, that the Red Cross must collect more than 2,500 platelet and about 13,000 blood donations every day for patients at about 2,500 hospitals nationwide. These blood products are perishable and need to be distributed to hospitals quickly, so it’s imperative that donors continue giving blood year-round to avoid delays in essential medical care.

Giving blood is a rewarding experience for those who are able to do their part and help patients in need. There are many of us, though, who, for a whole host of reasons, cannot donate blood. That doesn’t mean that we can’t make contributions in other ways. For example, on January 10, 2019, I was a Blood Donor Ambassador at a blood drive at the Red Cross office at 123 N. Alfred Street in Alexandria.

Here I am greeting donors as they arrive. This is a rewarding volunteer role
for anyone with free time on weekday afternoons (or some weekends).

As Ambassador, I greeted donors as they arrived and thanked them for coming in. Then I signed them in and provided them with their blood donation information. There was usually time before the donors were called in, so I had the opportunity to chat with them. I met one gentleman who has donated close to 100 times – incredible! I also spoke to some high school students who were excited about donating for the first time. Everyone was friendly and courteous, and I really enjoyed getting to meet all the donors. I commended them all on their selfless act of giving blood.

Like the donors, the staff was very sociable. They were professional, yet charismatic. They played lively music in the background which created a comfortable environment, putting donors at ease. My watch indicated that I volunteered for 3.5 hours, but since I spent the time with so many wonderful people, it felt as though it was about half of that.

The Red Cross blood staff works hard to make sure that facilities
are clean and comfortable for donors. This is the blood drive room
at the Red Cross office in Alexandria, VA. 

Even if you can’t donate blood, there are other ways you can help the cause. Like me, you can volunteer your time at a blood drive. You can make a financial donation. Maybe you can leverage your social media presence to donate your birthday/special occasion, honor someone special or start a virtual drive for your organization to encourage others to donate blood and/or money.  Even better, if you have a large, open space to host a blood drive, you can have up to 50 of your friends/colleagues/family members donate blood in a single day! There are many ways to make an important impact and promote blood drives in your community. The key is to find what works best for you and commit to helping the Red Cross.

Go to www.redcrossblood.org to learn more about how you can donate blood to help the Red Cross save lives.

To host a blood drive, go to the “Hosting a Blood Drive” or click here to learn more and apply!