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As Blood Donation Drops to All-Time Lows, MVRBC Changes Its Name

Marianna Bacallao, WVIK News

The Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center is changing its name to ImpactLife to unify its locations in Springfield, Davenport, and Urbana. The change comes as blood donations across the four-state region have dropped to all-time lows. 

The pandemic has already limited mobile blood drives at schools, but in the past month, the gap between blood demand and blood donations has widened. 

 
Amanda Hess, Director of Donor and Public Relations, says she says she’s worried—even in a typical year, people donate less blood during the summer months. 

 
“I’m forecasting closer to 3,000 red blood cell donations a week, and we need 3,600. So, we’re very concerned about this summer, and we’re actually not alone. Blood centers across the country are experiencing the same thing.” 

 
To encourage blood donation, ImpactLife is offering donors a $10 electronic gift card. 

 
Blood collected by the non-profit goes to 120 hospitals across Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, and Wisconsin.
 

Marianna Bacallao is WVIK Quad Cities NPR's 2020-2021 Fellowship Host/Reporter. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Mercer University's Center for Collaborative Journalism and served as Editor-in-Chief for the student newspaper, The Cluster.
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