SEATTLE — Bloodworks Northwest is facing critically low blood donations in blood types O Negative, A Negative and B Negative. Donations drop significantly in the summer, so it’s critical to reach new populations.
Where the Heart Lives is a partnership between Bloodworks and The Residency, featuring young hip-hop artists from the Seattle area.
“They connected with them to do this campaign across high schools to get young folks to understand the importance of their donation,” said TraeAnna Holiday, an Emmy Award-winning community advocate, media personality and producer.
Bloodworks relies on high school students for about 20% of blood donations. Where the Heart Lives encourages BIPOC youth to donate to help increase supply at this critical time.
“It’s great to have these young folks talking to young folks because that’s a way to build trust,” Holiday said. “You need critical messengers. Someone that is reflective of them and their lived experience to break that barrier.”
Bloodworks is working to build trust with the BIPOC community by being transparent and informative.
“Trust is built when they experience it,” Holiday said. “They experience it and feel the difference. When young folks can go into a medical facility and know that they’re going to be cared for just as much as someone who may not look like them, that’s where you really begin to have that amount of trust built into the system.”
Students respond well to Where the Heart Lives events and are enthusiastic about helping. With the rise of gun violence and other issues, many students see blood donation as an important way to help each other.
“This is affecting our young folks,” Holiday said. “The fact that they can step up and do something about it is also so empowering for them.”
Bloodworks needs 1,000 people a day to make appointments to donate to stay current with demand from hospitals. To learn more and schedule an appointment, visit the Bloodworks Northwest website.
Sponsored by Bloodworks Northwest. Segment Producer Rebecca Perry. Watch New Day Northwest at 11 a.m. weekdays on KING 5 and streaming live on KING5.com. Contact New Day.