By Red Cross volunteer Tara Prakash

On June 11, the Smithsonian Museum of American History hosted an American Red Cross blood drive. The museum has been holding six of these drives every year for nearly two decades. What made this one different?

This drive was themed “In Pursuit,” a nod to the nation’s 250th anniversary. To connect the event to the museum’s collections and to the history of humanitarian service in the United States, organizer Shawnie McRaney titled it “Come for the Ambulance, Stay for the Blood Drive.” The name is a reference to Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross. Barton’s ambulance, famously used in the Spanish-American War, is displayed one floor above where the drive took place.

“Clara Barton also worked for the patent office, which is now housed in the Smithsonian,” McRaney said. “So I just made a link between the Smithsonian, the Red Cross, Clara Barton, the 250th anniversary of the country, and the blood drive.”

Each of the Smithsonian drives averages at least 60 donors, and roughly 90% of donors return. The high retention rate reflects the culture that Smithsonian employee and blood drive organizer Paul Tintle has cultivated over roughly 20 years leading the events.

“Most people are regulars,” Tintle said. “We’ve become friends.”

As donors walk into the room and check in at the front desk, many wave at Tintle, greeting him by name. Some stop to chat. He gives them a hug. “You don’t find that everywhere,” he said.

With the Smithsonian Institution made up of 21 museums and numerous research centers, employees often work in different buildings and rarely cross paths. McRaney says the blood drives serve as a “mixing bowl,” creating an opportunity for staff from across the institution to connect.

“We are all Smithsonian, but we don’t see or know each other,” she said. “An event like this brings people together.”

Tintle grew up watching his father regularly donate blood. The experience instilled in him a belief that donating is a responsibility for those who are able. Only a fraction of the population who are eligible to donate blood actually give. “But everybody needs it,” Tintle said.

For donor Leah Connolly, who has been giving blood for 15 years, that impact is part of the appeal and what keeps her coming back. “There are always shortages of donated blood,” she said. “It’s an easy way to make sure you’re contributing to the community.”

Blood can be safely donated every 56 days, up to six times a year, with the American Red Cross collecting, processing and distributing about 40% of the nation's blood supply.

Anthea M. Hartig, the museum’s director and a blood donor herself, jokes that the museum is “blood drive center.” Hartig has donated blood throughout her adult life, something that has become both a habit and an honor to her, and she finds that having the museum host is really special.

“It is the beginning of my journey,” said Clarice Hazel, who began donating blood just a few years ago. “A lot of the folks here have donated for decades. Hopefully I can become one of those people.”

****

Donors of all blood types are urgently needed to keep the blood supply strong through the summer. For more information or to schedule a donation, visit RedCrossBlood.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS or download the Red Cross Blood Donor App.