Rotarians are out for blood. By Vanessa N. Glavinskas. Interactive. Issue 2, Oct. 2006

Someone in the United States needs blood every two seconds, and Rotarians are often the first ones to roll up their sleeves to donate. In fact, Rotary International received an Outstanding Achievement Award from the AABB (formerly known as the American Association of Blood Banks) for promoting and supporting voluntary blood donation in 2006.

Blood is one of the most critical resources when disaster strikes. Rotarians around the world answer the call by promoting blood drives, educating communities, and volunteering at blood donation centers. But several clubs and districts have found creative ways to make every drop count. One effort worth noting this Halloween season is Denmark's Vampire Project Group and its Lend an Arm initiative. Members of Danish Rotary, Rotaract, and Inner Wheel clubs founded the group in 2004 to organize the recruitment of their members as voluntary blood donors.

The group mailed pledge cards to Inner Wheel districts and all Danish Rotary clubs to encourage members to donate blood. They also set up blood donor registration and promoted blood donation at Rotary club events, and at the 2006 RI Convention in Malmö-Copenhagen.

The "vampires" are working with Governors Challenge Blood Drives (a project initiated in Texas, USA, to promote districtwide blood drives) to establish a Rotarian Action Group to take the movement global. Don't you wonder what blood projects they have in Transylvania?