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Layoffs Take Big Bite Out Of Bloodmobile Donations

Tribune photo by JIM REED

A Florida Blood Services Bloodmobile sits outside the offices of HSBC Mortgage Services recently.

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By MARY SHEDDEN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 17, 2009

ST. PETERSBURG - Cash isn't the only thing drying up in this economy.

The historically steady flow of blood to the Tampa Bay area's primary blood bank is dwindling, the victim of layoffs at a number of major companies. Some businesses have seen donations drop 10 percent to 20 percent; others have canceled bloodmobile visits all together.

As a result, Florida Blood Services is struggling to fill a 1,000-unit-a-day demand from the 37 local hospitals its serves.

An estimated 80 percent of the roughly 110,000 people who donate to Florida Blood Services every year do so at bloodmobiles or locations other than free-standing blood centers, said Dan Eberts, the center's communications manager. Corporate drives — which take place at businesses large and small — have seen their average collections drop from 19 to 12 units over the past year.

"The ripple effect permeates everything," he said.

Once-reliable bloodmobile visits to about 25 companies every weekday are finding fewer workers present to donate units that become red blood cells, platelets and plasma.

"We find ourselves having to scramble more to meet previous projections because of last-minute calls saying there have been layoffs or whatever," said J.B. Gaskins, Florida Blood Services' vice president of marketing.

Employers such as JPMorgan Chase, Coca-Cola and Franklin Templeton have seen significant decreases in blood donations after layoffs, according to blood bank data. For example, a Home Depot call center in Brandon that brought in 22 units in April saw its donations drop and drives canceled after 750 employees were laid off.

Those companies are among hundreds that eliminated 34,340 local jobs in 2008, according to the Agency for Workforce Innovation.

Another longtime blood drive company, Baxter Healthcare Corp. in Largo, collected 91 units during employee drives between March and November. The maker of medical equipment encourages employees to donate at work, but it did cancel a December blood drive after several rounds of layoffs, blood center records show.

Scott Hudson, a Baxter supervisor who was laid off in December, said he continues to give blood at another location. But, he said, "If people used to do it because it was at work … I can see why they're not going to go out of their way anymore."

Baxter spokeswoman Deborah Spak said the company will continue to hold blood drives and expects to hold six at the Largo location in 2009.

Gaskins said the overall local blood supply was sufficient as of Monday in all but four types: A negative, B negative, O negative and AB negative. To help meet their needs, blood drive coordinators have shifted their focus to promotional stops with retailers such as Dunkin' Donuts and Golden Corral.

High schools and college campuses, which often provide more than 15 percent of donations, also are being targeted.

"We've already committed to the hospital, and we still have to find [donations]," said Vivian Quinones-Solano, regional director of Florida Blood Services donor systems.

Although people facing money shortfalls can try to adjust their budgets, demand for perishable blood is constant and can only decrease if hospitals perform fewer procedures. Gaskins said he hasn't seen that happen.

"We park and pray they donate," he said.

Companies that haven't been hit with layoffs also will be urged to increase their participation. Blood drive coordinators at Tampa Electric Co. last week were encouraged to keep donating. Last year, 508 TECO employees contributed, adding 1,096 units of blood.Judy Butts, a TECO blood drive coordinator, said convenience is critical to getting co-workers to donate. She said she prefers to donate at the office and not at a blood center near her Brandon home.

Robert Browning, a TECO blood donor who also has offered his bone marrow for a transplant, said he would be hard-pressed to find time to donate outside of work. He and his wife juggle two full-time jobs and three kids.

"I probably wouldn't be donating today without it," he said. "For me, it's run, run, run every day."

It's likely the bloodmobiles will visit more churches and retail locations in the coming months in addition to ongoing corporate drives, Quinones-Solano said. And workers at one of those ongoing drives may actually see an increase: Florida Blood Service holds a monthly drive at Hillsborough County's unemployment office.

"The same population is here," she said. "We just have to find them."

For information about donating blood or coordinating a blood drive, call 1-800-68-BLOOD (682-5663).

Tribune researcher Melanie Coon contributed to this report.

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