March Philanthropy Update
Family and friends of Team Patient Survivor, Kamila, showed up on her birthday in February to donate blood and save lives. They helped to save up to 12 lives that day.
Did you know that March is Kidney and Bleeding Disorders Awareness Month? Are you doing all that you can do to keep your kidneys healthy? Did you know that your kidneys filter more 200 units of blood each day? See our 10 tips to keep your kidneys healthy in this newsletter.
San Diego Blood Bank (SDBB) plays an important role in patient lives, especially those who suffer from kidney disease related anemia and bleeding disorders like hemophilia. Blood donations provide lifesaving treatments for these patients throughout Southern California. Our financial donors help fund critical resources to make this possible. We appreciate you!
Enjoy March’s philanthropy update and thank you for being part of the SDBB community.
Sincerely,
David Wellis, Ph.D., Sherry Serio
Chief Executive Officer Vice President of Development
NEW BLOODMOBILE
Thanks to a generous anonymous donor, SDBB was able to purchase a new Omni 6 Bloodmobile! On February 6th, we celebrated with a ribbon cutting ceremony and blood drive at Sharp Healthcare. A lifesaving gift like this, allows SDBB to continue to save lives today and improve life tomorrow. Last year, SDBB bloodmobiles collected over 90,000 pints of blood, impacting more than 270,000 lives. Take a peek at the ribbon-cutting below!
TEAM PATIENT SURVIVOR STORY
Your financial support directly impacts our community.
MEET Bryan
Santee resident Bryan was hit by a truck while riding his bike to work in May 2011. During his long recovery, he required a large number of blood transfusions. Because of blood donors and philanthropy, he is now able to live his best life. Bryan is very thankful for the people who have helped him along the way. As an ambassador for SDBB and part of Team Patient Survivor, Bryan may been seen visiting our donor centers and events to thank blood donors and to encourage the community to get involved.
Accidents and traumas usually require many blood transfusions and SDBB is a proud blood supplier to more than 49 Southern California hospitals. Make an impact by joining our Annual Giving Program. By making a monthly, quarterly, or annual gift, you can support the purchase of critical supplies for blood donation for patients like Bryan. You can be the hero who helps provide lifesaving blood when our community members needed it most.
It costs $60 to fund critical supplies to collect 1 unit of blood.
FEATURED SPONSOR
Our sincere gratitude to our longtime partner and sponsor, SDG&E, for supporting SDBB’s mission and contributing to the health and wellness of our community.
FEATURED FUNDING PRIORITY
A blood donor volunteered at a mobile blood drive for plasma donation (plasmapheresis) which takes about 20 minutes to complete. The trima machine collects whole blood, separates red blood cells and plasma, and then the remaining blood components are returned to the donor. Currently, SDBB is looking to replace 14 trima machines for our donor centers and mobile drives. Make your gift today!
CORE BLOOD SERVICES
Philanthropy impacts SDBB’s mission. Make a financial gift to support Core Blood Services which will advance medical research, revolutionize how we improve health and treat disease, and most importantly, give the gift of life!
Your gift may fund state-of-the-art equipment and critical supplies to ensure a safe blood supply for our community and enable transformational research.
An annual gift of $1,000 funds critical supplies to collect over 16 units of blood impacting up to 50 lives!
meet sherry serio
1. Can you tell us what your role is here at San Diego Blood Bank?
As the Vice President of Development, I collaborate and develop meaningful partnerships with philanthropists, corporations, foundations, SDBB blood and financial donors, and SDBB leadership and board members to fund resources and build SDBB’s community visibility and impact as an innovative healthcare leader through philanthropy. To support this effort, my role is to deliver a comprehensive development program that provides an engaging donor experience and support of multi-revenue sources to ensure SDBB’s growth and sustainability. I love my job!
2. Tell us about someone who has influenced you in your life. Who are they and what did they teach you?
Dr. Michael Sise is an inspiring physician who I had the privilege to partner with. He has taught me to embrace my passion and truly believe in my professional abilities and mission to stay committed to excellence and make an impact on people’s lives despite adversity. His passion, charisma and relentless pursuit of his mission to collaborate, educate, help his colleagues advance, and most importantly, save lives - is infectious. He lives his life with amazing energy, focus, passion and is a multi-dimensional person! All traits that inspire me to be multi-dimensional so I can live to thrive and stay true to my mission.
3. Do you have a particular passion for the work we do here at SDBB? What makes you excited about the work you're doing?
Yes! I have a deep passion for philanthropy, quality of life, education, and advocating for health and prevention. Two of my strong beliefs are that your greatest gift is your health, and everyone deserves to have an opportunity to live a long and healthy life. SDBB works 24/7 to advance health and give the gift of life which truly aligns with my core values and beliefs. SDBB’s mission excites me and fuels my passion to collaborate with community partners to impact life. I am also excited to not only build resources for SDBB, but to develop meaningful experiences and value for our donors so they can learn, grow and feel good about their partnership and being part of the SDBB community.
4. From your perspective, how does philanthropy drive SDBB initiatives forward?
Philanthropy advances SDBB’s initiatives by funding critical resources to impact the lives of local patients and their families. A financial gift may fund state-of-the-art equipment, research, mobile blood drives, blood collection, and more. For example, we have a fundraising campaign right now to purchase new trima machines. These pieces of vital equipment make it possible to collect platelets on our mobile buses, enabling us to support patients fighting cancer.
5. How can SDBB supporters make a financial donation to the SDBB Foundation?
There are many engaging ways to partner and support the SDBB Foundation.
You can:
Join our Leadership or Visionary Circles and refer a friend, family or colleague to join too.
Become a corporate sponsor.
Make a planned gift.
Become an ambassador to help build awareness and financial support.
For more information or to make a gift, please visit our giving page or contact Sherry Serio at 619-400-8188 or sserio@sandiegobloodbank.org
“I have a deep passion for philanthropy, quality of life, education, and advocating for health and prevention. Two of my strong beliefs are that your greatest gift is your health, and everyone deserves to have an opportunity to live a long and healthy life.”
- Sherry Serio
GIVE WITH amazon smile :)
Looking for a way to support SDBB? If you shop on Amazon, it’s super easy to shop with Amazon Smile which donates on your behalf to charity organizations!
Support SDBB initiatives with just a few clicks. Click here to learn how to set your charity organization to SDBB and start giving today. We appreciate your philanthropy and support of our programs that save lives every day.
$478.11 has been donated by way of Amazon shoppers since February 2018!
WELLNESS FACTS
SDBB cares about the health of our community and we encourage you and your loved ones to practice self-care. You can begin by maintaining kidney health.
10 Ways Keep Your Kidneys Healthy
1. Drink Water
2. Limit salt intake
3. Increase physical activity
4. Avoid fatty foods
5. Decrease alcohol consumption
6. Quit smoking
7. Keep up with doctor visits
8. Monitor your blood pressure
9. Avoid fast foods, frozen foods and sugary drinks
10. Eat foods like – kale, mushrooms, apples, cauliflower, and cranberries for happy kidneys
Sources: LifeLine Screening | World Kidney Day
SDBB Fast Facts
SDBB is the California Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA) designated Southern California Regional Operations Center for the distribution of blood to Southern California in the event of a major disaster or act of terrorism in the State of California.
SDBB supports research & development company teams to test new medical devices related to blood products for both clinical and research use.
In 2017/2018, SDBB distributed:
106,505 Red Blood Cell Units
25,486 Platelet Units
30,660 Plasma Products
THANK YOU to our Top sponsors
Thank you to Circus Vargas for donating tickets to reward our generous blood donors during the month of February!
Watch our video
DONATE BLOOD
Schedule your next blood donation today!
Contact Us:
SHERRY SERIO
Vice President of Development
sserio@sdbb.org | 619-400-8188
To learn about ways to give, click here.
Be our Wellness Expert for next month! Click here.
In partnership with our community, San Diego Blood Bank Foundation is the fundraising entity that supports critical resources for blood donations, advances San Diego Blood Bank’s critical healthcare role, and fuels collaboration with cutting-edge research and clinical organizations to advance cell therapy and precision medicine.
