Today we’d like to introduce you to Garrett Whitney.
Garrett, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Our story really isn’t our story – it belongs to blood recipients and blood donors. In 2000, Bloodbankpartners began developing tools to encourage blood donors to give blood more often and more cost-effectively. BBP started with a simple hypothesis. Donors will give blood more often when they believe, at their core, their own blood donation will save a life. Our challenge was not to explain blood saves lives, but to devise tools that encourage donors to conclude their own blood donation will save a life. We use two approaches:
Blood recipients thank donors for saving lives, and Donors are told the name of the hospital where their blood was sent to save a life, and the number of days after donation their blood was sent to the hospital. Donors are usually surprised how quickly their blood is used.
Blood recipients, who often endure phenomenal setbacks and pain, explain how blood transfusions were crucial for them being alive today. Donors perceive donating blood from a new perspective when they are thanked by a patient who knows first-hand that blood transfusions saved his/her own life.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It is human nature to be restrained and cautious (even suspicious) when new programs are offered that change the way things have always been done…especially when these programs are being offered by an outsider. It was difficult to find early adopters to prove our programs work.
Bloodbankpartners – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Bloodbankpartners started as a fluke. Back in 2000, I was donating blood, and that particular day, the experience was horrible. Everything was going wrong. The phlebotomist was rude, slow and just didn’t care if I donated or not. After answering the required health screening questions, the phlebotomist showed me to the donation bed. The phlebotomist took a long time to start as she was more interested in talking with another employee than drawing my blood. I had a lot of time to think while I waited…and waited. By the way, did I mention the phlebotomist was slow?
At the time, a co-worker and I had been working with some major corporations headquartered in NYC. As I was waiting, I had time to think of some things we had learned from the private sector that might apply to not-for-profit blood centers. I presented some of these ideas to a local blood center, and, with their help, we developed some recruiting tools. I knew nothing (and still don’t) about blood banking, but I knew something about donating blood. I already knew blood saved lives as my mother lived with leukemia for five years. I was able to enjoy my mother for five additional years because donors had donated the blood that kept her alive. Our recruiting tools were developed from a donor’s perspective.
Surely am glad that slow phlebotomist was assigned to me when she was having such a bad day!
How do you, personally, define success? What’s your criteria, the markers you’re looking out for, etc?
Bloodbankpartners’ goal has always been to encourage blood donors to make repeat donations more often and more cost-effectively. Anecdotally, we hear from donors who say they pleased to learn the name of the hospital that received their blood donation. But, blood banks are our customers, and they need hard data that validate our programs.
Statistically, we’ve established that first-time donors who hear our messages return to make 4.3% more donations than donors who do not hear our messages. Statisticians have also determined that donor pools at blood banks that used our services for three years or more have donors returning 85% of the time after 7 donations. Most blood banks reach 85% after 18 donations.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 817.989.0000
- Email: gwhitney@bloodbankpartners.com or Laura@bloodbankpartners.com
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