DONORS NEEDED: Inventory low following response to national needs

Published by Kirby Winn on Tuesday, January 28, 2025 in News Releases

During January’s National Blood Donor Month, ImpactLife has joined blood providers across the country in responding to needs that have emerged due to multiple events outside the blood center’s direct service region. While the blood center always prioritizes needs within its service region, donations from ImpactLife have also helped save lives this month in separate crises that took place in New Orleans, southern California, and Louisiana, and most recently due to to a cybersecurity incident affecting New York Blood Center Enterprises.

Increasing demand for blood components elsewhere reinforces the importance of maintaining a strong and stable blood supply throughout the year,.  “We never know when the call for outside support might come,” said Katie Marchik, Chief Operating Officer. “And this month, we have seen that call for help come more frequently than before.”

ImpactLife encourages eligible donors to give blood to help maintain a robust supply for both local and national needs. To book an appointment for blood donation, please call (800) 747-5401, or schedule online at www.bloodcenter.org or via the ImpactLife mobile app (www.bloodcenter.org/app).

ImpactLife was among 12 blood centers that were on call to help when the Blood Emergency Readiness Corps (BERC) was activated on New Year’s Day, following a terrorist attack in New Orleans. The following week, ImpactLife was asked to provide blood components for a hospital in southern California that had seen its blood supply diminished because of wildfires burning in the region. And ImpactLife was on call again for BERC when the Blood Emergency Readiness Corps was activated in response to snow and ice that disrupted transportation networks in Louisiana late last week.

ImpactLife has also supported the national response to a ransomware event against New York Blood Center Enterprises that began to unfold on Sun., Jan. 26. Cybersecurity experts have confirmed the suspicious activity in NYBCe IT systems is a result of a ransomware incident, and NYBCe took many of its systems offline. This has limited the blood center's ability to process and label blood donations, so blood industry partners across the U.S. -- including ImpactLife -- have helped meet blood inventory needs for NYBCe throughout the week.

NYBCe Cybersecurity Incident Update

AABB Task Force on Disaster Response

Statement from the AABB Interorganizational Task Force on Disaster Response: Blood Community Collaborating to Maintain Stability of Blood Supply Following Cybersecurity Incident at New York Blood Center Enterprises

“As the year unfolds, ImpactLife remains committed to ensuring that hospitals and EMS providers in our region have the blood products they need,” said Marchik. “And with strong donor support across our region, we are also prepared to assist wherever needed in times of crisis.”

IMPACTLIFE DONOR PROMOTIONS

All donors will receive a voucher to redeem for their choice of an electronic gift card, a charitable donation, or points to redeem in the Rewards Store. For more information, see www.bloodcenter.org/now.

• DONOR CENTER BONUS: Through Feb. 9, donors who give at Donor Center locations will receive a $20 value or 1000 points increase. (Values remain the same for donors who give at mobile blood drives.)

• WHOLE BLOOD $20 gift card or $20 donation or 1,000 points
• DOUBLE RED CELL DONATION  $25 gift card or $25 donation or 1,500 points
• PLATELET APHERESIS OR PLASMA $30 or $30 donation or 2,000 points

ABOUT IMPACTLIFE

ImpactLife's mission is to save lives by engaging donors, supporting partners, and advancing medicine. Founded in 1974, ImpactLife supplies blood products and services to hundreds of hospitals, emergency services organizations, clinical researchers, and other blood centers throughout Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Missouri. The nonprofit blood provider is ranked among the leading 12 blood suppliers in the United States. For more information on current blood inventory levels, our donor promotions, and more, see www.bloodcenter.org and find us @impactlifeblood on Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

-end-