If you don’t meet the eligibility requirements to donate blood, you’ve come to the right place.

Blood donations through blood drives are important to the health of communities and to meet the constant needs of patient care (and even more so during a pandemic!). Since every two seconds, someone in the United States needs blood, a blood donation can save a life.

However, if you find yourself in a position where you shouldn’t donate blood but still want to support a blood drive, you’ve come to the right place. Below is a list of five ways you can do to help out in supporting a blood drive without donating blood yourself.

5 Ways to Support Blood Donation (Without Donating Blood)

1) Host a blood drive.

This is a great way to get a lot of blood donations as well as to make a difference with the help of others in your community. At the end of the day, there are three things needed for a host to hold a blood drive: (1) location: a large open room with enough space to ensure privacy during the actual donation of blood such as a cafeteria or a school gym; (2) volunteers: people to help recruit donors, scheduling appointments, and supporting donors the day of; and (3) donors: people who are scheduled to donate blood! To learn more about check the American Red Cross’s site to learn the process of hosting a blood drive.

2) Help spread the word.

Word-of-mouth can help raise awareness if you know about an upcoming blood drive. You can spread the word to encourage more people to donate their blood in a variety of ways from calling, messaging, and sharing on social media among your friends and family.

3) Support a blood donor.

Providing moral support to someone who is giving blood for the first time can go along way to them becoming a regular donor. If you know someone who may be nervous about giving blood but wants to, encourage them as they donate blood. You can also help those who feel like they can’t find the time to donate blood by helping them out and make time.

4) Volunteer at a blood drive.

The more the merrier as they say – local blood drives and centers will always appreciate the help. Ways of how a volunteer can range from contacting donors to remind them about their appointment to escorting them when they arrive at providing refreshments after blood donations.

5) Donate to a charitable blood organization.

Making a financial donation to support a charitable blood organization can help with ensuring an ongoing blood supply, provide support to families in need who are affected by natural disasters like earthquakes, hurricanes, and floods.

TL;DR

Too Long; Didn’t Read

• Every two seconds, someone in the United States needs blood, a blood donation can literally save a life.

• Blood donations are important to community health, especially during a global health pandemic.

• From hosting a blood drive to just helping someone you may or may not know to donate blood, supporting a blood drive can be just as important as the blood donation itself.

Wingspan Health

Wingspan connects to your online doctor accounts (“patient portals”) and safely compiles all of your information into one easy-to-use platform. By accessing and understanding your past health information, Wingspan can help you make use of it.