American Red Cross Northern Minnesota Region - Annual Report FY13 | Page 10
In the past year, the Red Cross has also built up its Ready Rating program, a free online
program designed to help businesses, organizations and schools become better prepared
for emergencies. Last year, Ready Rating small business membership doubled to more
than 6,000 small businesses, 93 percent of which rate the program highly.
A Lifesaving Gift of Blood
The American Red Cross supplies about 40 percent of the country’s blood, providing a
lifesaving service to trauma victims, cancer patients, those with chronic conditions and
others. Our many generous blood donors across the country make this work possible.
Sickle cell disease is an inherited condition that affects approximately 70,000 AfricanAmericans. Some children with the condition need blood transfusions throughout the year,
with the best blood match for an African-American child usually coming from an AfricanAmerican donor.
The Red Cross is doing its part to fight sickle cell disease with the Blue Tag program.
Under this program, donors who identify themselves as African-American or black can
have a blue tag attached to their blood collection bag. This indicates that the donated unit
will undergo advanced screening and may be matched to a patient with sickle cell disease.
For the Red Cross, the Blue Tag program has become the foundation for future outreach
and recruitment efforts in the African-American community.
On June 14, 2013, the Red Cross celebrated World Blood Donor Day with the launch
of the 2013 Nexcare give program—sponsored by Nexcare, a division of 3M—to raise
awareness about the importance of year-round blood donation. Red Cross spokesperson
Soleil Moon Frye joined the 2013 Nexcare give program to bring further attention to the
heroic act of giving blood. For 2013, Nexcare Brand gave away limited-edition bandages
inspired by the four seasons, each adorned with the word “give” to demonstrate the theme
that “Giving Blood is Always in Season.”
Across the country, generous
blood donors roll up their sleeves
and give the gift of life.