Published by Kirby Winn on Sunday, June 14, 2026 in News Releases
ImpactLife joins blood providers worldwide in celebrating June 14 as World Blood Donor Day and in thanking the volunteers who provide for our region’s blood supply. Now well into the challenging weeks of summer, ImpactLife looks to increase appointments for blood donation to continue meeting patient needs during the summer months.
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Observed annually on June 14, World Blood Donor Day (WBDD) commemorates the birth of Dr. Karl Landsteiner, whose research identified the main blood groups: type A, type B, type AB, and type O, as well as the Rh-factor in blood. Blood providers worldwide mark World Blood Donor Day by raising awareness of the need for safe blood and blood products and by thanking volunteer donors for providing a lifesaving resource in their communities.
This year's recognition of WBDD comes just two days after an activation of the national Blood Emergency Readiness Corps in response to a mass shooting in Midland, Texas. Blood providers across the country, including ImpactLife, shipped blood components to Texas to help replenish red blood cells that were sent in the immediate response to the shooting. The BERC activation underscores how blood products given by volunteer donors are used in lifesaving treatments at hospitals every day. Scheduling an appointment to give blood will help keep this lifesaving resource on the shelves at local hospitals and helps ensure ImpactLife is ready to respond with additional units of blood in an emergency.
Learn about the BERC activation for Midland, Texas
To book an appointment for blood donation, please call (800) 747-5401, text LIFESAVER to 999-777, or schedule online at www.bloodcenter.org or via the ImpactLife mobile app (www.bloodcenter.org/app).
Blood donor Alan Grimme made World Blood Donor Day a special occasion for ImpactLife by making his 75th lifetime donation at 75 years of age at the ImpactLife headquarters donor center in Davenport. Alan shared how he got started as a blood donor, while serving in the Marine Corps, and he encourages others to join him in supporting the blood supply.
ImpactLife Donor Rewards and Good Giving opportunity
Under ImpactLife's Donor For Life program, blood donors receive a voucher to redeem for their choice of an electronic gift card, bonus points to use in the ImpactLife Donor Rewards Store, or an equivalent value donation to support a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Reward values are based on donor frequency. See www.bloodcenter.org/rewards for complete information on current donor promotions and the Good Giving initiative.
About ImpactLife
ImpactLife is a nonprofit, independent, community blood center founded in 1974 that provides lifesaving blood products and services to more than 130 hospitals and emergency medical service providers in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, and Wisconsin. ImpactLife is one of the top 12 blood providers in the U.S. supporting the needs of patients, hospitals, EMS partners, and medical researchers throughout the country. The blood center’s mission is supported by more than 200,000 volunteer blood donations each year. For more information, see www.bloodcenter.org and find us @impactlifeblood on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, YouTube, and LinkedIn.
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CONTACT:
KIRBY WINN
Manager, Public Relations
kwinn@impactlife.org
mobile 563-349-1571