DaytonDailyNews.com

"Give the gift of life," the slogan goes.

In return, get a T-shirt or gift card, a dozen doughnuts, concert tickets or maybe even a chance to win a car.

Excluding core, or repeat donors, that's what it takes these days to motivate people to take a trip to the local blood bank and donate a pint, industry officials say.

That's particularly troubling to the Community Blood Center in Dayton, where the demand for blood continues to outpace supply.

"If you need blood — no matter how good your doctor is or the medical institution is where you're at — if it's not there they can't save you," said Sher Patrick, spokeswoman for the CBC, which serves 25 hospitals in 15 counties.

Patrick said blood centers don't like to give incentives because they're costly.

"But without them there's the fear we won't be able to collect enough blood," she said.

The CBC, which typically runs about 500 pints below ideal supply levels, offers incentives about five times a year, Patrick said. The latest offer is a $5 gift card to Speedway and Super America stores throughout December.

According to America's Blood Centers, blood shortages aren't the norm across the country, but offering freebies to entice people to donate is.

"We did not create the monster, but rather our consumer culture did," said Dan Eberts, director of donor services for Florida Blood Services. "However, we have continued to feed the 'what's-in-it-for-me syndrome,' especially when we anticipate or experience a drop in donations."

In Cincinnati, for instance, the Hoxworth Blood Center raffled off season tickets to Cincinnati Bengals games earlier this year. In Indianapolis this weekend, the Indiana Blood Center will host a blood drive with the Indianapolis Colts and give donors a football with coach Tony Dungy's etched image and autograph.

"Our supplies are doing well right now. We're very fortunate," said Mike Parejko, vice president of operations for the Indiana Blood Center. "But it can turn the other way very quickly if there's an automobile accident or trauma... It's a constant need."

Growing demand

The number of donated pints per year at the CBC has increased from 67,495 in 1997 to 80,732 this year, Patrick said. But it's still not enough.

"Two things are working on us," she said. "A lot of our regular donors are getting older and perhaps dropping out of the donor pool because they themselves might be receiving blood or having health problems. The other thing is people are living longer with new advances in medicine where blood transfusions are used in the treatment."

Cancer, for instance, is no longer the death sentence it used to be, thanks in part to blood transfusions, she said.

Patrick said other typical pressures on donor turnout include inclement weather, illness and busy schedules.

While the incentives work, the CBC can't afford to offer them constantly, she said.

Patrick said the CBC spends around $150,000 a year on freebies. It also has had to hire additional staff to market and manage the incentive efforts.

The hope is that young donor's motivated by freebies will become regular donors just for donating's sake.

In the trenches

Perhaps nowhere is the need for blood more apparent than in hospital emergency rooms.

Just recently a motor-vehicle crash victim who was treated at Miami Valley Hospital required 22 pints of blood, according to Dr. Mary McCarthy, the hospital's director of trauma services.

"That 22 units put a large amount of pressure on the blood bank," McCarthy said.

The teenage victim survived.

McCarthy said Dayton is fortunate to have its own blood center because most trauma centers around the country rely on blood from the American Red Cross, blood that "usually has to be flown in from somewhere and isn't as fresh."

Fresh blood is preferred, she said, because it transports oxygen better and promotes quicker healing.

"One of the unique aspects of our Community Blood Center is you're giving to your neighbors and your giving to your neighbors' children and helping them survive that severe trauma with lower complications," McCarthy said.

Eligibility

Patrick said nearly 38 percent of the population is eligible to donate blood, but only 10 percent of that population donates.

"We need donors to come in on a consistent basis to try and even out (the supply) all year long," she said.

"If every donor would donate one more time a year, we'd be fine, or if every donor would bring a new donor with them. Even one percent more would make a huge difference."

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7408 or agottschlich@DaytonDailyNews.com.