(April 29, 2019 | Davenport, Iowa) – To recognize the heroic impact of each blood donation, Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center (MVRBC) is offering a T-Shirt bearing the slogan “Heroes are our Type” to all donors who give blood from April 29 through May 26. Donors may schedule an appointment to give blood at any MVRBC Donor Center or mobile blood drive by calling (800) 747-5401, scheduling online at www.bloodcenterimpact.org, or via the IMPACT mobile app (https://www.bloodcenter.org/donate/donor-loyalty/app/).
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By providing the “Heroes” T-shirt to donors, the Blood Center recognizes the service of our first responders, police officers, firefighters, paramedics, active military personnel, emergency hospital team members, and veterans who continue in their commitment to public service by giving blood regularly.
“Everyone who gives blood can be a hero,” said Amanda Hess, Director, Donor and Public Relations. “In the weeks leading up to Memorial Day, we are especially grateful for those heroes who protect and serve our communities and who provide for our nation’s defense.”
This includes such donors as Jack Sawvel (pictured), a frequent donor who gave blood for the first time while serving in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. Since that time, he has donated blood more than 200 times. “Every 56 days I make an appointment and I come in,” said Sawvel. “When you give blood, that donation is going to positively impact someone’s life, and it takes very little of your time and very little of your effort.”
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Locally, MVRBC is the provider to hospitals in Burlington, Clinton, Dubuque, Galesburg, Geneseo, Muscatine, and the Quad Cities, including Genesis Health System, UnityPoint Health, Select Specialty Hospital, Hammond Henry Hospital, OSF St. Mary Medical Center, Great River Health System, and Mercy Clinton. The Blood Center operates three Donor Centers in the Quad Cities and one in Muscatine and holds mobile blood drives across the region.
Blood donations are often used to help treat patients with cancer, victims of trauma and patients undergoing major surgeries. All persons age 17 and up (or 16, with a signed parental permission form) who weigh at least 110 lbs. and are in general good health meet the basic eligibility requirements for blood donation. For more information, call the Blood Center at (800) 747-5401, visit www.bloodcenter.org or download the IMPACT mobile app for Apple iOS or Android phones at www.bloodcenter.org/donate/donor-loyalty/app/.
About Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center
Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center (MVRBC), based in Davenport, Iowa, serves 95 hospitals in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin, as well as resource sharing partners across the country. The 501(c)(3) not-for-profit blood center was established in 1974 and operates as Central Illinois Community Blood Center (Springfield, Illinois) and Community Blood Services of Illinois (Champaign-Urbana, Illinois). The Blood Center’s service region extends from southwestern Wisconsin to St. Louis, Missouri and from Danville, Illinois to Albia, Iowa, an area with a population of more than 4-million residents.
For more information, see www.bloodcenter.org and visit the Blood Center’s social media channels: www.facebook.com/MVRBC, www.twitter.com/willyougive, and www.instagram.com/willyougive/.
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