An Abbott employee donates blood at Abbott Park, Illinois, U.S., using mixed reality technology to support the University of Illinois as part of the We Give Blood competition.

Since 2022, Abbott’s Transfusion Medicine business unit and Abbott’s Black Business Network (BBN) have collaborated to accomplish one goal: expand the blood supply.

The strategy? Make donating blood more appealing to groups who don’t typically participate — particularly younger people and people of color.

“Raising awareness was the most important part,” said Mark Kwatia, Director of Procurement and BBN Chicagoland co-chair. “The more that people knew about the importance of donating, the easier it was to encourage them to donate.”

By hosting webinars, sharing case studies, and spreading the word about the importance of blood donation among people of African descent, Transfusion Medicine and BBN  were able to increase the number of employee donations by 44 percent in 2023 and an additional 31 percent in 2024 during the annual Abbott Chicagoland Employee Blood Drive.

“Diversity in donation is important for improved patient outcomes since rare and uncommon blood types are often found in similar ethnic populations,” said Elizabeth Balthrop, Vice President of Transfusion Medicine. And for people with rare conditions who rely on specific types of blood to treat their disease, this can leave them with limited options for relief.

Take Sickle Cell Disease (SCD), a rare condition that affects a large proportion of people of African descent. Because of its genetic underpinnings, people with SCD respond best to blood transfusions from someone with a similar ethnic background. But, while 44 percent of African Americans match this genetic profile, only four percent of the global blood supply does.

Since Abbott screens more than 50 percent of the world's blood supply, BBN, an employee network of more than 2,000 members across 19 different locations, was a great resource for boosting donations.

“This was a natural partnership because of BBN’s ability to reach their local communities,” Balthrop said. “Given Abbott’s commitment to building a sustainable blood supply, it was a synergistic opportunity to work together.” Together, Abbott employees are working hard to provide a better quality of life for people of all backgrounds worldwide.