America’s Blood Centers, (ABC) the national organization of community-based, independent blood centers that supply 60 percent of the nation’s blood supply, and HOSA Future Health Professionals, a 260,000 member-led organization in 5,000 schools and colleges across 48 states, today announced a multi-year national partnership to encourage blood donation and careers at community blood centers. As part of the agreement, ABC will recognize HOSA chapters and state associations for outstanding achievements in the collection of blood at HOSA’s Annual International Leadership Conference, held every June.
“Students that are members of HOSA today will be tomorrow’s health care professionals. Workforce challenges and the loss of school-based drives during COVID-19, which account for 20 percent of the blood supply nationwide during certain times of year, continue to strain the nation’s blood supply. Through this partnership, we are excited to help build the next generation of lifelong blood donors and promote the wide variety of career opportunities at community blood centers,” said Kate Fry, Chief Executive Officer at America’s Blood Centers.
“HOSA-Future Health Professional chapters have been hosting blood drives and raising awareness of shortages for decades. We are very pleased that HOSA is partnering with America’s Blood Centers to formalize a process to recognize those who positively impact their communities by taking part in blood drives,” said Dr. Jim Koeninger, Executive Director, HOSA-Future Health Professionals.
This partnership will kick off with ABC-led workshops at HOSA’s 2022 International Leadership Conference in Nashville, Tennessee next month. Blood Assurance, a Tennessee-based ABC member blood center, will also host a blood drive throughout the event with additional details to follow. ABC will recognize the strongest-performing HOSA chapters and state associations at HOSA’s 2023 International Leadership Conference through data collected following the first year of the joint national blood drive recognition campaign.
About ABC
Founded in 1962, America’s Blood Centers is the national organization bringing together community-based, independent blood centers. Its member organizations operate more than 600 blood collection sites providing close to 60 percent of the U.S., and a quarter of the Canadian, blood supply. These blood centers serve more than 150 million people and provide blood products and services to more than 3,500 hospitals and healthcare facilities across North America. All ABC U.S. members are licensed and regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. For more information, visit www.staging-americasblood.kinsta.cloud.
About HOSA
HOSA-Future Health Professionals provides a unique program of leadership development, motivation, and recognition exclusively for secondary, postsecondary, middle school, adult, and collegiate students enrolled in health science education and biomedical science programs or have interests in pursuing careers in health professions. Since its inception in 1976, HOSA has grown steadily, reaching over 2.5 million members through 54 chartered HOSA Associations across the country and around the world. For more information, visit www.HOSA.org.