Your voice today could save a life tomorrow.
Be a part of Blood Advocacy Week 2025 (June 9th-13th) and join blood donors and community members plus more than 80 organizations to advance policies that support blood donation in America. Just a few minutes of your time can give someone a lifetime.
About Blood Advocacy Week
Last year, over 80 organizations united during Blood Advocacy Week to champion policies to strengthen and diversify our nation's blood supply. Here's what we achieved together:
But Our Work Isn't Done
Imagine what we can achieve with your involvement in 2025. Whether you're a part of the blood community, a blood donor, CEO, or part of a national organization, your voice is crucial. Ready to make a difference? Sign up now and join us June 9th-13th for Blood Advocacy Week 2025!
Why We Must Act
Blood transfusion is a critical medical procedure in the United States, with a patient requiring a transfusion every two seconds. It is essential for addressing acute care needs such as trauma, as well as for managing ongoing diseases like cancer, inherited blood disorders, cardiovascular and orthopedic surgeries, and organ and bone marrow transplants.
Since blood cannot be artificially manufactured, our nation's blood supply depends on voluntary donors. The collection of blood and recruitment of donors in the United States is facilitated by a network of not-for-profit blood centers located throughout the country. More than 50 community blood centers collect the majority of the blood used by patients every year.
Today, the U.S. blood supply is facing challenges. These include declines in the overall number of blood donors each year, particularly those under the age of 50, and a reduction in school and business-based blood drives. These traditional sources of blood donation are gradually recovering from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Currently, nearly 60% of blood donations come from individuals over 40, and almost 45% are from those aged over 50. From 2019 to 2021, there was a 60.7% decrease in donations from individuals 16-18 years old and a 31.9% decrease in donations from individuals 19-24 years old. This is significant, as donations from younger generations are pivotal for the stability and diversification of the blood supply.
Creating a diverse pool of blood donors is crucial for patient care, particularly for those with conditions that require frequent transfusions, including Sickle Cell disease and Thalassemia, which disproportionately affect minority populations.
Blood Advocacy Week is designed further policies designed to help address these challenges and ensure blood products remain available for all patients in need.
Download the definitive guide to U.S. blood donation and public messaging, where you can explore over 40 verified statistics that offer crucial insights into America's blood supply and its donors.
Our Partners
Partners taking part in Blood Advocacy Week include AABB (Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies), American Society of Hematology, American Society for Clinical Pathology, Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives, Body Interact, Centerlink, Cerus, Civil Air Patrol, the Crescent Foundation, Elks, Georgia Health Policy Center, GLAAD, Human Rights Campaign, HOSA Future Health Professionals, Johnson and Johnson, Lantana Consulting Group, LifeFactors, Macopharma, National Bleeding Disorders Foundation, North Arundel County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated, Operation Pulse Lift, QinFlow, Sickle Cell Foundation of Minnesota, Sick Cells, Thalassemia International Federation, Terumo, the Thrive with Pyruvate Kinase Deficiency Organization, University Blood Initiative, and Whitman-Walker Health.
These organizations are joined by community blood centers and blood organizations across the country, including Alliance for Community Transfusion Services (ACTS), Blood Assurance, Blood Bank of Alaska, Blood Bank of Hawaii, Blood Centers of America, Bloodworks Northwest, Carter BloodCare, Central California Blood Center, Central Pennsylvania Blood Bank, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Coastal Bend Blood Center, Community Blood Bank of Northwest Pennsylvania & Western New York, Community Blood Center (Appleton), Community Blood Center of the Ozarks, ConnectLife, Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center, Houchin Community Blood Bank, Hoxworth Blood Center, ImpactLife, Inova Blood Donor Services, Kentucky Blood Center, LIFELINE Blood Services, LifeServe Blood Center, LifeShare Blood Center, LifeSouth Community Blood Centers, LifeStream, MEDIC Regional Blood Center, Miller-Keystone Blood Center, Mississippi Blood Services, National Blood Testing Cooperative, New York Blood Center, Northern California Community Blood Bank, OneBlood, Our Blood Institute, Rock River Valley Blood Center, San Diego Blood Bank, Shepeard Community Blood Center, Solvita, South Texas Blood & Tissue, Stanford Blood Center, SunCoast Blood Centers, Texoma Regional Blood Center, The Blood Center (New Orleans), The Blood Connection, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, UCI Health Blood Donor Center, Versiti, Vitalant, We Are Blood, and Western Kentucky Regional Blood Center.
In Their Own Words
Read firsthand stories about the lifesaving importance of blood products.
“I truly believe in my mind that early blood transfusions made a difference in me being alive and here today. If I didn’t receive blood that quickly, my thought is that I wouldn’t have made it," said Scott, Pleasanton, a Texas resident who severed nerves, muscles, tendons and blood vessels during a home improvement accident.
"They pulled me out of my back window, got me into the ambulance, hooked me up to the whole blood, and as soon as the whole blood went through, I woke up," said Tiffany, a Texas resident who needed a blood transfusion following a car accident.
“We’re forever grateful to the people who saved my life, and I hope my story will let people know how important donating blood is to saving lives," said Mayah Zamora, 10-year-old survivor of the Uvalde school shooting.
“But no matter how difficult it got or how bad the pain was, the one thing that I could count on to help me recover quickly and bounce back was a blood transfusion,” said James Griffin, who relies on blood transfusions to treat Sickle Cell disease.
“If we don’t get blood, something bad could happen. Donating blood is doing something good for others,” said Breanna Steele, who relies on blood transfusions to treat Sickle Cell disease.
An Initiative of America's Blood Centers
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Washington, DC 20006
Tel: 202-393-5725
Fax: 202-899-2621699