Blood donor volunteer opportunity

Service for others...thinking outside the box is our challenge.

Below is some information from Mayo Clinic and some help that is needed currently.  This is not a service opportunity that would be for everyone but does fit our challenge.  

If you read below you will find all of the details including contact information to sign up.  Please note: there is an amount of money that is given to the person who donates.  In order for this to count as service, money can not be given and so this money would need to be donated to another organization or given to someone else.

We are writing once again to request your kind help and assistance in recruiting healthy pediatric donors to donate a small sample of blood that we can use to develop and validate new clinical diagnostic immunology tests to help patients with immune deficiencies or pre/post organ or bone marrow transplantation.  Without healthy donors (especially pediatric – infants and young children), we are unable to define what is normal or abnormal in the immune system and therefore, this is a critical component of our service to patients who come to Mayo for evaluation and treatment, or from whom we receive samples for diagnostic evaluation from elsewhere in the country or around the world.

I know some parents may be reluctant to have their children undergo a blood draw.  However, I would like to respectfully ask you to consider that if you are in the fortunate position of having a healthy infant or child, please think of the burden of parents who have a critically ill child and the help they need getting the most accurate and prompt diagnosis.  A blood draw is not quite as traumatic to children as some parents or children may perceive.  Infants or children may cry for a few minutes but the “pain of the poke” is soon forgotten.  But, the value of the sample provided is immense because it helps us with diagnosis of many, many infants and children who need immunological evaluation, either for immunodeficiency or transplantation.

If your child/children is/are not yet registered as a normal donor for the Clinical Immunology lab, please consider doing so.  If you are already a normal donor, please spread the word to your family, friends and neighbors as we would gladly take as many people as are interested and willing to participate who meet our inclusion criteria.

For pediatric donors (newborns- 18y), contact Misty Berndt (507-293-4071;berndt.misty@mayo.edu).  Pediatric donors will require to have parents or legal guardians sign a consent form (the process will be explained once you are registered to participate in the study). If your child has previous participated for our normal blood collection, there is no need to fill out any paper work, just notify Misty to set up a scheduled date for the blood draw.

All pediatric donors (due to their younger age) will receive $50 reimbursement for each blood draw.

I hope you will be able to help us and our patients (at Mayo and around the country/overseas) through your own participation and by recruiting others to participate as well.

Thank you for your gracious consideration of this request.  

Misty Berndt Clinical Research Coordinator Mayo Clinic Transplant Center Phone: 507-293-4071 Fax: 507-266-2412 E-mail:  berndt.misty@mayo.edu ___________________________________ Mayo Clinic 200 First Street S.W. Rochester, MN 55905 www.mayoclinic.org