Lifeserve Blood Center is offering community blood donors a way to help support Ukrainian relief efforts through blood donations.
Center spokesperson, Danielle West, says they are helping the country buy equipment used to collect and store blood.
“We, unfortunately, can’t send blood products outside of the country to Ukraine. So this is a way to help support them. One of their buildings was damaged with all of their blood supplies in it everything that they use to collect blood in that area was lost,” West says. ” So this is an effort to help kind of fundraise and get them the funds they need to buy new blood products and blood supplies.”
The Blood Center is offering those who donate a rewards program. “They’re gift items ranging from sweatshirts, coolers, chairs, and water bottles. And the way this program is working is if donors come in between April 18th and April 30th, they can choose to donate their points back to this fund. And then life serve is going to match all of those donations up to a $10,000 donation that will go directly to the Ukraine relief effort,” she says. West says the program starts today and it is in conjunction with volunteer week.
“Blood donation is a great volunteer activity. And we really need community blood donors right now, more than we have recently our blood supply has been lower than we’d like it to be really in every area for quite a while,” according to West. “So we’re hoping that through this program, people can come out and give and help the community blood supply but also take their donation further and help donate towards the Ukraine efforts too.” To learn more, you can visit www.lifeserveblood.
(By Brent Weithorn, KFJB, Marshalltown)