About US

A Blood Supply in Crisis

The health of America's blood product supply is in danger. Although 38% of the U.S Population is eligible to donate, only 10% do so. Shortages, rarely reported by the media, are an unfortunately not uncommon occurrence throughout the year and can have devastating effects on patient care. The scariest part is that the prognosis is only getting worse. Donor numbers continue to drop, especially in the younger demographics who represent the future of America's blood product supply.

A large part of the issue is the the over-reliance of the medical system on more nationally oriented blood collection agencies such as the American Red Cross. Blood products donated to such agencies often end up miles, if not whole states away. If there is an emergency, hospitals are forced to ration the supplies on hand while waiting for more to be routed to them. Not only that, but hospitals have to buy back the blood products donated by their community members at a hefty price. One unit of blood costs hundreds of dollars and the average number of units used during surgery is 3.2.

What is needed is a refocusing of blood product donation back to the local level. Healthy community blood centers can reduce blood product shortages, allow more money to be re-invested in bettering other aspects of patient care, and improve patient outcomes via the reduction of transfusion related adverse reactions.

However, many local centers lack the resources to compete with larger, nationally oriented blood collection agencies. This is where the Blood Donor Ambassadors (BDA) step in.

OUr Origins

The BDA originated as a single chapter at the University of Chicago. From organizing press releases to creating lasting partnerships with University institutions, these undergraduates acted as the main marketing and advocacy arm of the blood donation center. In under a year, they were able to increase the weekly donor rate many times over. In short, this group showed what college students organized around a central cause can do.

Our Mission

The central mission of the Blood Donor Ambassadors is to inspire the next generation of blood product donors and revitalize the health of community blood centers all over the United States. This will be achieved through the creation of university chapters whose members will act to supplement the efforts of their local blood donor centers. These chapters will be student led and implement a variety of recruitment initiatives. Ultimately, these individual chapters will be organized into a grass roots movement to force the issue of local blood product donation into the national conversation.