Employee volunteering comes in many forms and can enhance their satisfaction and well-being. A great option that unites employees is to organize a blood or plasma donation drive. By collaborating with local donation centers, the event can be scheduled in ways that make it as convenient as possible. You can bolster employee participation by clarifying the positive motivations behind your efforts because donating blood or plasma is an act of kindness that benefits many!

Benefits of blood & plasma donations: 

1. Team Building and Unity: Participating in blood or plasma donation cultivates team unity. Employees working toward a common altruistic goal remind them of their shared sense of compassion for others and bring them together in the process.

2. Bolster Corporate Social Responsibility: Blood drives and plasma donation efforts align with broader responsibilities. Demonstrating care for employee and community well-being supports your company’s public image, too.

3. Opportunities for Employee Recognition & Appreciation: Create a positive workplace culture by acknowledging and celebrating employees who actively participate in donation efforts. Involving leadership not only signals appreciation for volunteer work but also emphasizes to others that supporting the community is a high priority within the organization.

4. Ease Needle-related Anxiety: Not all employees will be comfortable with needle-related donations. Their participation may help them overcome mild medical anxiety because repeated exposure to clinical settings can improve needle acceptance. Donation event participation may even contribute to a more positive attitude toward vaccinations and health screenings. For these reasons, consider involving employees who are open to helping with the carpool but may not have an interest in donating blood or plasma themselves. This way, a company can maximize the team-building advantage without excluding those who may not donate for medical or personal reasons.

5. Educational Opportunities: While most individuals have a general idea of why donations are necessary, hosting a blood or plasma drive is a great opportunity for gaining knowledge. Help your team understand the medical conditions that warrant blood/plasma transfusions. This helps participants appreciate the real-world, life-saving impact they make when they decide to donate. 

Donating blood and plasma

Blood

Donations can be scheduled on a regular basis and take less than an hour each time. Online options can help you speed up the process, including online registration options to screen eligibility and clarify the exact steps, and apps for scheduling donations. Your donation supports blood transfusion for those who’ve experienced burns and other forms of trauma. They also help patients with certain types of cancer and chronic diseases, as well as patients with sickle cell disease.

Plasma

Although blood donations consist of red blood cells that carry oxygen throughout the body, your plasma has no red blood cells. Instead, plasma is the light yellow liquid that helps move immune cells, nutrients, and waste in the body and is 92% water. Plasma does carry certain proteins that help blood clot and your donation can help those who’ve experienced trauma or who have autoimmune or hemophilia diseases. Find the plasma donation center nearest you by inputting your location here.