In partnership with the Phantoms Charities, officials at Miller-Keystone Blood Center (MKBC) have announced the 2017-2018 Bleed Orange High School Donor Recruitment Campaign, presented by Wegmans.

“This collaboration with Phantoms Charities and Wegmans is designed to increase donations and engage high school student blood donors in Lehigh and Northampton counties,” says Michael McShane, Senior Director, Recruitment/Development/ Marketing, Miller-Keystone Blood Center.
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“The Bleed Orange campaign features exclusive ticket and t-shirt giveaways all season long, and aims to motivate students to support our lifesaving mission by donating blood,” explains Mr. McShane, noting that as the current pool of dedicated blood donors continue to age, MKBC must rely on younger generations to be committed to blood donation regularly.

“The Lehigh Valley Phantoms have been doing their part to save lives by partnering with MKBC for the past three years by holding the annual Bleed Orange Blood Drive,” says Jennifer Keeble, Executive Director, Phantoms Charities. “Success has grown year after year – increased amounts of blood have been collected, and consequently more lives have been saved.”

She continues, “Phantoms Charities is proud to announce an expanded partnership with MKBC that brings the Bleed Orange Blood Drive campaign to our local high schools in Lehigh and Northampton counties. With a generous contribution of Phantoms tickets, the program will bring awareness of the need to donate and excitement and motivation to donate. It is our goal that MKBC can collect 250 units of blood at 50 high school drives between the two counties. We hope to save up to 750 lives through this new campaign!”

“The fact is that 40% of our donor base is in the age range of 40-to-59. As our donor base ages, MKBC needs to recruit younger generations to collect the daily 450 blood products needed to supply our community hospitals. As our population increases, the number of daily units will increase as well,” he says.

According to Mr. McShane, the Bleed Orange campaign is designed to bring heightened awareness of the need for blood donors, which can lead to increased donations, thus benefiting the overall community by ensuring blood products are always available for those in need. A single car accident victim can require as many as 50 pints of blood, while premature infants often receive blood transfusions during their stay in a neonatal intensive care unit. Cancer patients, meanwhile, are the largest user group of blood products, as they often require red cell and platelet transfusions during their course of chemotherapy treatment.

By increasing awareness through this campaign students learn important information about the number of people who need blood transfusions daily to treat different diseases, the importance of blood in the body, and the characteristics and uses of blood and different blood cells/components.

“The Bleed Orange High School Campaign will add to Phantoms Charities and the Lehigh Valley Phantoms numerous programs, specifically, those that are school-based and focused around health, fitness, sports, and education,” adds Ms. Keeble. “I recently learned that an estimated 80% of the population will need blood products at some time in their lives, and this campaign brings youth together to make a difference to proactively address this inevitable need. Phantoms Charities always aims to strengthen the community and impact lives, and this campaign will ensure the community has adequate blood supply. Whether in schools, with nonprofits, and throughout the community, Phantoms Charities is committed to make educational and charitable contributions that inspire positive change and create opportunities to support our local community.”

“The Bleed Orange campaign begins in September 2017 and runs through May 2018 at high schools located in Lehigh and Northampton counties,” Mr. McShane confirms. “This presents us with the opportunity to engage 29 high schools, 15,000+ students and 3,000+ young donors in our community, over the course of approximately 50 blood drives. This equates to saving approximately 7,000+ lives in our region.”

“Miller-Keystone Blood Center is sincerely grateful to the Phantoms Charities and Wegmans for their support and partnership in the Bleed Orange High School Donor Recruitment Campaign,” he concludes. “With their support, we continue our mission of partnering with the community to save lives.”

In partnership with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, the 2017 Bleed Orange Blood Drive registered 105 blood donors, saving approximately 225 lives. The 2018 Bleed Orange Blood Drive is scheduled for Tuesday, March 13 at the PPL Center.

For more information, contact Mr. McShane at 610-691-5850, ext. 1294 or mmcshane@hcsc.org .