Companies removing letters A, B, and O to encourage blood donations for the Red Cross
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IDAHO FALLS — The Red Cross is putting out a call for more blood donations and promoting the effort by asking local and large-scale companies to remove the letters A, B, and O from its logos and signs.
“The missing types campaign is just a fun way to really raise awareness for a pretty serious issue,” said Matt Ochsner, regional spokesman for the Red Cross of Greater Idaho and Montana.
The letters A, B, and O are the main blood groups and having them disappear from signs is a way to draw attention to the cause, and show members of the public that every donation matters. Ochsnher said companies like Google and State Farm insurance have joined the movement. The initiative started earlier this month and will continue through the summer.
Through this international campaign, the Red Cross is calling for new and veteran donors to respond to the call.
“We are just trying to raise awareness of the need for more blood donors especially in the summertime when people are out on summer vacations and they’re busy and they’re less likely to give blood,” Ochsner said.
Ochsner said during the school year is when the organization hosts the most blood drives through public schools and universities. Each year some 6.8 million people donate blood. For the last four years, the number of donors has been declining by 80,000 donors per year.
“We help everyone from trauma victims to cancer patients,” Ochsner said. “Anybody who’s undergoing surgery they all count on life-saving blood, so it’s very important that we have hospital shelves stocked and that blood ready when they need it.”
Join the movement by posting on social media and adding #missingtype to posts. The Red Cross is encouraging the public to post while giving blood.
“Even if they want to challenge their friends and family members then to give blood that would be fantastic too,” Ochsner said.
The processes of donating blood takes about an hour. The time for drawing blood takes only about 10 minutes. When donors give a pint of blood that donation can save up to three lives.
“It’s really important that people know that every two seconds in this country somebody needs blood,” Ochsner said.
To learn more about the movement and find out where to donate near you go to RedCrossBlood.org.