December 28, 2022

Big year for Legion blood donations

By The American Legion
Security
Big year for Legion blood donations
Adam Rocke of Springfield, Va., American Legion Post 176 prepares to give blood at a recent collection.

More than 92,000 units collected by posts during 2021-22 membership year.

The American Legion’s Blood Donor Program had its biggest year in 15 years, according to the 2021-22 national Consolidated Post Report.

With just over 70% of posts reporting their numbers for the most recent membership year, The American Legion produced no less than 92,162 units of blood from 56,013 individual donors through 2,504 collections. It was the highest unit total reported since 2008 when the number of units reported was 93,859.

The American Legion Department of Wisconsin led in the 2021-22 reporting, with 7,809 units collected, closely followed by the Department of Minnesota at 7,559.

The American Legion’s National Blood Donor Program emerged in 1942 to help local communities – including VA hospitals – meet domestic needs at a time when plasma was in high demand on the World War II fronts. In time, The American Legion became the No. 1 contributor of blood nationwide for the Red Cross.

See how The American Legion’s National Blood Donor Program started here.

 

 

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