This month, blood donation organizations around the globe are calling upon companies to join them in the Missing Type Campaign and help them highlight the nearly 30% drop in blood donations.
BrandTuitive joins companies like Google and Microsoft in dropping the letters A, B and O from their logos – the letters of the three blood types.
Donating blood costs nothing more than a bit of your time, and it saves lives. Anyone who has had a loved one who has needed blood knows the miracle of life a stranger can provide in the 30 minutes it takes to donate.
According to UK-agency Engine, some of the reasons blood donations are on the decline include:
- Wider and more exotic travel
- People having less time to give in an increasingly busy world
- Lack of awareness of the process
- Lack of awareness about the need for more diverse blood donors
- Fear of needles
Brand Marketing Manager, Anelise Carneiro, donates quite frequently, sometimes during her lunch break. About donating she says, “Why wouldn’t I? I know my donation can save up to four lives. Last month I received a note from the blood bank informing me that my O- blood was used in a hospital in New Jersey. That made it so personal for me.”
Frequent readers of our blog know that we rail against “cute for cute’s sake.” The work we produce for our clients is built to drive results. Of course, that doesn’t mean the work can’t also be gorgeous! We applaud the initial results of the #MissingType Campaign which launched last year in the UK and registered 30,000 people as blood donors in England and North Wales in just 10 days. We expect the U.S. campaign this year to yield even greater results.
To find out where to donate blood in New York, check with the New York Blood Center. For other states, reference the Red Cross website.
If you’re able to donate blood, please take yourself to a donation center and give. You’ll feel great about helping another person, and they’ll probably give you cookies when you’re done!