Every day, mothers face life-threatening situations where donated blood becomes the difference between life and death. In fact, 1 in 83 mothers need a blood transfusion after giving birth. Complications during childbirth, surgeries and other medical emergencies make blood donations an essential resource for their survival.
As a blood drive coordinator, you play a vital role in ensuring that moms in your community receive the care they need. Your efforts in organizing successful blood drives directly support mothers during their most vulnerable moments.
Blood transfusions are especially critical for women who experience pregnancy-related complications. Every day, Vitalant needs to collect about 5,300 blood, platelet and plasma donations, delivering lifesaving blood products to patients in hospitals coast-to-coast.
Founded by Dr. Vy Rossi, an OBGYN in Colorado, Donate for Mothers partners with hospitals and patient survivors to emphasize the importance of blood donation. Hospital-based blood drives provide a convenient location for healthcare staff, patients’ families and community members to contribute to this constant and crucial need.
They work closely with labor and delivery departments and maternity wards at hospitals, along with survivors who experience these traumatic events, who have a firsthand connection to pregnancy-related complications that require blood transfusions. It’s those experiences that make their support in these blood drives so valuable. Their stories of perseverance and survival not only motivate others to donate blood, but even survivors of severe trauma. After all, blood drives can bring joy to those who have been through so much — people who often want to give back to their communities.
Kristen, a former ambassador and blood drive coordinator who has worked for Vitalant for 20 years, required blood during childbirth while pregnant with her second child in 2003 after experiencing a life-threatening amniotic fluid embolism.
“I spent eight days in the ICU and I hemorrhaged again over those eight days and needed another 16 units of blood to save my life,” Kristen said. “So all in all, a total of 42 units of blood. Forty-two people donated blood to save my life, and I'm forever grateful to those donors for donating and allowing me to raise my children.
“And it's stories like mine … why we started Donate for Mothers and why we donate for mothers. So thank you.”
Thank you for your dedication to our lifesaving mission and for being a champion to mothers in need. Let’s work together to make sure every mom has the chance to share more first steps, first words, and first days of school with their children. We hope you host your next blood drive soon.