Donate Blood Through LifeServe This Summer

2020 hasn’t started out like anyone expected, but with summer here there are several things to look forward to: sunshine, outdoor fun and, hopefully, a continual flattening of the COVID-19 curve. It’s not all warm weather vibes, though. Unfortunately, summer also brings an influx of traumas to area hospitals. Memorial Day is the start of what several of our medical partners have referred to as "trauma season" due to the high amount of automobile crashes, falls and other accidents that occur in the summer.

Blood Collection Amid the Pandemic

LifeServe Blood Center is ramping our blood collection back up to make sure there’s plenty of blood on the shelf for anyone who might need it. Whether that’s a trauma victim, premature baby, transplant recipient or cancer patient, we’re working hard to provide that lifesaving liquid. One in seven people admitted to a hospital will need a transfusion as part of treatment. Blood can’t be created in a lab and there’s no substitute for it, so when one of your neighbors is in need, it’s you we’re relying on!

The switch to summer collections from our recent COVID-19 imposed slowdown is almost like flipping a light switch back on. We’re turning the machine back on to full speed. This spring, our team adapted to a new normal as the novel coronavirus arrived in America. Schools and businesses moved to remote workspaces, leaving no one on campus to support a blood drive. Hundreds of blood drives were cancelled and thousands of donations fell off of our collection calendar. The prospect of thousands of lost donations was terrifying at first, but things balanced out. We never experienced a shortage during the pandemic. Medical centers suspended elective surgeries, travel declined dramatically and the weekly orders for blood were for substantially smaller numbers than average. Blood was still required, and LifeServers stepped up to provide it. Governors in our three states declared blood donation an essential function of the healthcare system and we were exempt from recommendations that gatherings of more than 10 be cancelled. We turned our focus to our donor centers and saw an absolutely unheard-of outpouring of support. The blood drives that did go on saw incredible turnouts of people who knew donating blood was something good they could do.

We’re encouraging those first-time donors to keep donating. It’s not just big national events that should drive people to give blood. Every day someone from your community relies on a donated unit of blood as a part of treatment or to save their life.

Seeking Donors

We’re seeking steady blood donations to get us through this week, this month and this summer. Blood donated with LifeServe will help your neighbors in local hospitals during their critical time of need. Like most summers, we're forecasting a critical need of several blood types.

Become a Blood Drive Sponsor

We’re also in need of blood drive sponsors. Those who can invite us into their church, organization or business to host a lifesaving blood drive. As mentioned, hundreds of blood drives have been canceled, and we’re working hard to replace those as quickly as we can. We’re looking for anywhere in the community that we can come to you to collect!

As a bonus, we're offering our special summer “Be Wild” shirts and tank tops to summer donors, available in the online store! Your blood donation will earn you points to put toward redeeming that limited-edition design. This promotion will run through Labor Day or while supplies last.

Blood Donor Precautionary Measures

We’ve still got safety on the mind — always have and always will! To help ensure the safety of our team members and other blood donors during the current COVID-19 pandemic, we are enforcing the following precautionary measures:

• Appointments are required. Donors who do not have appointments will not be able to give blood.
• We are asking that blood donors pre-screen themselves for fever prior to appointments. Only donors with temperatures under 99.5 will be allowed to donate. If your temperature is higher than 99.5, please reschedule here or by calling us at (800) 287-4903.
• Blood donors are required to wear a mask for the duration of their appointment. If you do not have a mask, we will provide you one.

The Des Moines Donor Center is located at 431 East Locust Street, in Downtown Des Moines (DSM). Please click here to book your lifesaving appointment.

You can count on The Partnership to continue to share accurate and fact-based updates as well. See more on COVID-19 here.