New incentives aim to move the needle on blood donations

Plus: Alcohol inspection shuts down Olde Providence 'honor system' bar; End-of-year land deals near uptown; Economic outlook panel; Legal architect of Charlotte bank mergers passes away

Dec 19, 2022

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Faced with dwindling numbers of blood donors, centers revamp marketing to attract millennials and Gen Z: digital badges, gift cards, a shot at a Super Bowl trip

Rosie Smolowitz, 16, with the pint of blood she donated after spotting an offer for a $50 e-gift card; on the right, a Twitter post from The Blood Connection advertising a chance to win a 5-night stay at a condo in Folly Beach, S.C.

By Michelle Crouch

Co-published with North Carolina Health News

Last month, my daughter Rosie got an urgent email from The Blood Connection, one of three organizations that collect blood in Charlotte

“BONUS $50!!! BLOOD DRIVE URGENT NEED!!” screamed the subject line.

For a 16-year-old who is often short on cash, it was an enticing offer.

A few hours later, we were lounging in recliners in a mobile bus near the Arboretum in south Charlotte, IVs in our arms, as we each donated a pint.

While we were glad to be saving lives, what drew us there that day was the $50 e-gift card we could use at retailers including Target, Amazon and Walmart.

“We lost a lot of blood donors during the pandemic, and we haven’t gained as many back,” said The Blood Connection spokeswoman Katie Smithson. “Sometimes, we get into hard situations where we are low on inventory, and if we add things like that [the $50 bonus], we’ll see people come in.”

Traditionally, blood centers — which sell the blood they receive from donations to hospitals and medical centers — have steered away from paying for donations, in part because of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rules. But with the number of donors dwindling, blood centers across North Carolina — and across the country — are experimenting with new strategies to get people to open their veins. Those strategies include generous “thank you gifts” and the chance to win big prizes.

Consider:

The Blood Connection, which services 120 hospitals in the Carolinas and Georgia, offered the $50 e-gift card bonus — on top of its standard $10 thank you gift — twice in December. December donors also have a chance to win a 5-night stay at a South Carolina beach condo (“a $2,300 value!”) or one of three $500 Airbnb gift cards.
OneBlood, which provides blood to Atrium Health and other local hospitals, is offering December donors a $20 e-gift card and a plush blanket. Or, if you give through a special promotion drive, you could earn prizes such as two free movie tickets, a ticket to see a local light show or a burger at Red Robin (with purchase of a beverage).
The American Red Cross, which supplies 40% of the country’s blood, distributed $10 Amazon gift cards through its “Give a gift. Get a gift” campaign from Nov. 15 to Dec.15. In January, donors have a chance to win a trip for two to the Super Bowl that includes pre-game activities, roundtrip airfare, three nights in a hotel and $500 for expenses.

A receding ‘silver tsunami’

Even before the pandemic, blood centers faced a shrinking donor pool, largely because many regular donors are aging out.

“Those who lived through World War II and had experience with the Red Cross, they are passing away, and they were very dedicated to blood donations,” said Angela Powley, regional executive for blood services over the greater Carolinas region for the American Red Cross.

About 60% of donations come from those older than 40, according to the Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies. Of those, about 75% come from people over age 50, said Smithson.

“I call it the silver tsunami,” Smithson said.

The pandemic exacerbated the problem. Staffing shortages and canceled blood drives in 2020 and 2021 created a severe blood shortage, forcing hospitals to make difficult decisions. In January 2022, the American Red Cross announced its first-ever “blood crisis.”

To help boost supply, the FDA in 2020 loosened some restrictions, such as the one on men who have had sex with men, which had been in place since the 1980s. Earlier this year, the agency lifted its longtime ban on donations from Americans who spent time in certain European countries between 1980 and 2001 amid outbreaks of mad cow disease.

Smithson said Covid reduced high school and college student participation. At The Blood Connection, donations from people under age 29 plunged by 43% between 2019 and 2021.

Strategies to attract young donors

Jerry Holmberg, a blood and biotherapies consultant in Denver, N.C., was the senior advisor for blood policy at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services from 2003 to 2011. He said the blood industry has invested in a lot of research on how to appeal to younger donors.

Millennials “expect information — how the blood is processed and where it is going and how it is going to help,” he said. “They also have to know the reason and purpose for doing it.”

To that end, blood centers have developed robust social media accounts filled with stories of people who have benefited from receiving blood. Sophisticated mobile apps offer rewards and badges for frequent giving, allowing people to track their donations and get reminders when it’s time to donate again.

Those who donate through OneBlood may even get a personal message from the recipient of their blood through its “message my donor” program.

“Imagine in the middle of your day receiving a message from someone whose life you saved,” said OneBlood spokeswoman Susan Forbes. “That has been a huge inspiration for our donors.”

Partnering with HOAs, workout groups

With more people working remotely, fewer are participating in corporate blood drives. That has spurred blood centers to find new partners such as homeowners’ associations, churches, sororities and sports teams like the Charlotte Knights.

In one of the more creative partnerships, the Red Cross partnered with a Charlotte-based network of men’s workout groups called F3. The group has hosted hundreds of drives nationwide since 2020, Powley said.

“They make it fun,” she said. “The different groups challenge each other and talk a lot of smack.”

To reach high school students, the Red Cross gives student blood drive organizers gift cards ranging from $50 to $200, depending on how many pints are collected. Organizers are also eligible to win a $2,500 college scholarship.

The Blood Connection has a similar program for student organizers. And it is rolling out a high school curriculum called “Vein to Vein” about the science of blood donation that can be paired with a blood drive.

Is it legal to pay donors?

Another thing that works to attract young donors? Financial incentives. That’s what caught my daughter’s attention.

“Your daughter responded to the monetary aspect,” Holmberg said. “That is one thing millennials look for — are they going to get paid for it, especially if it is an inconvenience. How much does it cost them to drive to the blood facility? Is it keeping them from their paid employment?”

One study published in the journal Science found that a $10 gift card increased blood donations by 50% with no negative effect on blood safety.

There’s no law against paying for blood. But since the 1970s, the FDA requires blood donations to be labeled as either “paid” or “volunteer,” after research found that blood from paid donors was more likely to be contaminated. That move essentially eliminated paid donor programs in the U.S., Holmberg said, because hospitals stopped buying blood from paid donors.

FDA guidelines on gifts

FDA guidelines say gifts for unpaid blood donors are acceptable as long as they can’t easily be turned into cash. That means gifts shouldn’t be easily transferable to others or redeemable for cash. Raffles are allowed.

These days, with donor gifts increasing in value, the line between paying cash for donations and offering incentives can be slim.

Smithson noted that most people contribute because they truly want to help others, but incentives can be the thing that gets them to donate on a particular day.

That strategy worked to spur Rosie into action. She bought her friends holiday presents with her gift card and says she’s already looking forward to making her next donation.

Michelle Crouch covers health care. If you have tips or ideas for her, please shoot her an email at mcrouch@northcarolinahealthnews.org.

This article is part of a partnership between The Ledger and North Carolina Health News to produce original health care reporting focused on the Charlotte area. For more information, or to support this effort with a tax-free gift, click here.

Today’s supporting sponsors are T.R. Lawing Realty…

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Join us Jan. 4 for a panel on 2023’s economic outlook

Where is the economy headed? Good question, and we’re helping get some answers.

The Ledger is teaming up with U.S. Bank and Davidson College for an online panel on the economy on Wednesday, Jan. 4, at 11 a.m. Panelists are a Davidson economics professor, the chief investment officer of U.S. Bank’s asset management division and economics correspondents from Axios (national) and Insider. The Ledger’s Tony Mecia is the moderator.

➡️ Details and registration here.

From the files of the N.C. ABC: ALE agent shuts down ‘honor system’ bar at Olde Providence Racquet Club

A surprise inspection by an alcohol enforcement agent on a Saturday night in July has apparently led Olde Providence Racquet Club to put an end to its practice of making unattended beers available to its members.

The N.C. ABC Commission fined the private club on Sharon View Road in south Charlotte $1,000 last week for failing to comply with state alcohol laws.

We always enjoy reading the law enforcement narratives of these alcohol busts — they have an understated dramatic quality to them, like a script from “Dragnet” — and the Olde Providence case doesn’t disappoint. The tale, drawn from an Alcoholic Law Enforcement report obtained Friday by The Ledger, goes something like this:

It was 8 p.m. on Saturday, July 9, when agent Kelly Kearns pulled up to the front of the clubhouse at Olde Providence Racquet Club to conduct a surprise inspection. Kearns was acting on a tip that underage drinkers might be able to access alcohol at the club.

Kearns entered through the front door of the club and walked past the unattended reception desk. After just four minutes on the property, Kearns found the bar. There was nobody there.

There was wine on the counter. Coolers below.

“I walked behind the counter and opened the cooler doors,” the agent wrote. Bingo: “I observed various kinds of malt beverages and unfortified wines.”

Then, Kearns noticed the signs in the bar area, including ones that read:

“Olde Providence Pub beer and wine for members only. … Another good reason to join our club!”
“NOTICE: Please be reminded that we are on the honor system. When you decide to enjoy a beverage please create a ticket. This helps us keep track of our inventory and what our members prefer to drink. Cheers!”
“If your brand of beer is NOT on the ticket, please use the ‘Specialty Beer’ line”

Kearns continued walking through the clubhouse but found only a few people: a man folding towels, a man vacuuming and a “blond female who appeared to be between 17 and 19 years of age.” The towel man confirmed how the scheme worked: “[He] informed me guests would write down what type of beer or wine they took on a ticket and receive a charge for it.” Kearns left at 8:25 p.m.

Four days later, Kearns spoke with the club’s general manager, who, like Captain Renault in “Casablanca,” seemed shocked, shocked to learn of the problem: “[He] was very understanding and perceptive in wanting to mitigate the risk to underage and intoxicated persons and ensure there are no avoidable incidents at the location,” the report says. The general manager also asked if an alcohol vending machine would be a suitable replacement; Kearns said no.

Capital Grille, On the Roxx, Crazy Horse: The Olde Providence case was one of several the ABC panel agreed to settle last week involving Charlotte locations, according to ABC records. Other establishments cited included The Capital Grille uptown having bottles with defaced tax stamps at ($400 fine), On the Roxx cocktail bar in Ballantyne serving underage patrons ($5,000 fine) and Crazy Horse on Independence Boulevard, where a 21-year-old took a shot of Tito’s “while wearing her employee uniform” ($800 fine). —TM

➡️ Read for yourself: Check out the violation report on Olde Providence Racquet Club from the N.C. ABC Commission (3 pages)

A flurry of real estate deals to close out 2022

It’s the end of December, a time when many real estate deals traditionally close. And this year is no exception.

We told you on Friday about Novant Health buying land for a hospital in Steele Creek and the sale of a Duke Energy property uptown. On Friday, Duke sold a second uptown property, at 526 S. Church St., according to the Charlotte Business Journal.

A few other recent sales of note, according to property records:

The Sub Station II building in South End/Dilworth: Sterling Bay Properties of Chicago paid $6M for about 0.6 acres at the corner of South Boulevard and Park Avenue. That works out to $9.8M an acre — which means that the out-of-state developer either really has a thing for deli sandwiches or is planning something much bigger.
The Morehead Tavern building: A company linked to design firm Shook Kelley bought the brick building on 0.6 acres at 300 E. Morehead St. for $4.5M.
Charlotte Lab School: Wood Partners of Atlanta bought two parcels at the corner of 10th Street and Seigle Avenue in the Belmont/Plaza-Midwood area. The 3.1 acres, bought for $9.2M, includes the site of Charlotte Lab School, a well-known charter school. In case you want to play detective on what might be in store for the site, the real estate subsidiary Wood Partners used for the purchase is named “10th Apartments LLC.”

—TM

Correction

A news summary in Friday’s newsletter gave the wrong name of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officer convicted last week of misdemeanor death by motor vehicle. The former officer’s name is Phillip Barker (not “Baker”). Apologies.

In brief:

Missing girl: Police are looking for an 11-year-old Cornelius girl who has been missing for three weeks and charged her parents with failing to report her disappearance. The FBI and the State Bureau of Investigation have joined the case. (WBTV)
Housing sales fall again: The number of homes sold in the Charlotte area in November plunged 36% compared with November 2021, according to new data from the Canopy Realtor Association. (WSOC/Biz Journal)
In memoriam: Paul Polking, the former general counsel for Bank of America predecessors NationsBank and North Carolina National Bank (NCNB), died last week at age 85 from complications from lung cancer. In the 1980s, Polking helped develop the legal strategy that led to interstate bank mergers, paving the way for NCNB’s growth under the leadership of Hugh McColl and aiding Charlotte’s evolution into a major banking center. (Legacy.com)
Matthews street racing: Residents in Matthews say they’re fed up with late-night street racing on a 0.3-mile stretch of Ardrey Kell Road, where drivers sometimes go as fast as 100 mph. “My wife is probably boiling to the point of pure defeat,” one resident said. (That Ardrey Kell Road is different than the one that extends from Waverly to Johnston Road in Charlotte.) (Fox 46)
Holiday lights: CharlotteFive compiled a list of 19 Charlotte-area homes decorated with lights for the holidays. (CharlotteFive)

Taking stock

Unless you are a day trader, checking your stocks daily is unhealthy. So how about weekly? How local stocks of note fared last week (through Friday’s close), and year to date:

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Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Staff writer: Lindsey Banks; Contributing editor: Tim Whitmire, CXN Advisory; Contributing photographer/videographer: Kevin Young, The 5 and 2 Project

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