African American Advisory Council

The Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center African American Advisory Council is an all-volunteer committee of community and business leaders, working to raise awareness about the need for African-American blood donors and the importance of blood donations. Since its inception in 1994, the Council has successfully identified leaders in the community and opened doors for the blood program.

The group meets regularly to identify opportunities to raise awareness of the importance of blood donation, and especially the role of transfusions in the treatment of Sickle Cell Disease. The council also organizes and promotes community blood drives that attract new African-American donors and serve as a catalyst for other community groups to host blood drives. To gauge the success of its efforts, the Council tracks the number of African-American blood donors by asking each donor’s race at the beginning of the registration process. The Council uses this question for the sole purpose of measuring the effectiveness of their outreach efforts.

For more information on the African-American Advisory Council, click here to complete a form.