ARUP Blood Services is fighting Utah’s annual summer blood shortage with gift cards and concert tickets

Photo: Nguyễn Hiệp // Unsplash

Donors this summer are eligible to win prizes ranging from a $500 gift card to concert tickets and a shot at a Post Malone show at Rice-Eccles Stadium

SALT LAKE CITY — ARUP Blood Services is kicking off a new summer initiative designed to reward blood and platelet donors with travel and recreation prizes as the nonprofit works to offset a seasonal dip in its blood supply.

The program, called “Donation to Destination,” runs June through August and will award 27 donors with prizes including gift cards that can be used toward vacations or local outings. It marks the first time ARUP Blood Services has offered the incentive.

Each month, the organization will hold separate drawings across three donor categories: in-center donors, donors who give at ARUP public blood drives, and ARUP employee donors. One winner per category each month will receive either a $500 gift card, a $250 airline or hotel gift card, or a $100 membership to a local attraction such as the Hogle Zoo, the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium, or area museums. Winners will be announced in July, August, and September.

The program comes in response to a recurring challenge for the blood center.

“It’s a bit of an awkward gap for us,” said Deb Jordan, community relations supervisor at ARUP Blood Services. “With school blood drives ending, and our regular donors busy with summer vacation, blood shortages during the summer months are unfortunately a regular occurrence.”

ARUP Blood Services says it needs approximately 100 donors per day to meet the needs of University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics and the Huntsman Cancer Institute, the two facilities it exclusively supplies. That demand is harder to meet on weekends, holidays, and during the summer months, according to the organization.

Donors can maximize their chances by giving as frequently as eligibility allows — whole blood every 56 days, platelets every 14 days.

Additional incentives are tied to specific dates this summer. Donors who give between June 1 and June 30 will be entered to win tickets to the Salt Lake Bees Fourth of July game and fireworks show. Those donating over the July 4 weekend — July 3 through 6 — can win a $250 Amazon gift card, with one winner selected per day. Donors who give between June 1 and July 15 will be entered for a chance to win two tickets to see Post Malone at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

“It’s a win-win for all who donate,” Jordan said. “You’ll get a chance to fund your next vacation on top of the joy of helping patients in need.”

ARUP Blood Services is a nonprofit component of ARUP Laboratories, an enterprise of the University of Utah and its Department of Pathology. The organization says a single blood donation can help up to three patients, including children and adults undergoing bone marrow transplants or recovering from cancer, burns, trauma, surgery, or illness.

Those interested in donating can visit ARUP website or call 801-584-5272 to check eligibility and schedule an appointment.