Tips & Tricks

Tips and Tricks: Shopping in the Online Store

By Julie Ruel, Social Media Manager, Stanford Blood Center

As part of our Loyalty Program donors have access to our online store. We offer a variety of items, including SBC-branded apparel, ice cream coupons, messenger bags, and the option to donate points back.

Points are earned at each visit according to the following schedule, which resets on January 1st each year:

Whole blood, platelet, and RBC + plasma donors:

▪ Visit 1 = 100 points
▪ Visit 2 = 125 points
▪ Visit 3 = 150 points
▪ Visit 4+ = 175 points


DRBC donors:

▪ Visit 1 = 200 points
▪ Visit 2 = 225 points
▪ Visit 3 = 250 points

Follow these steps to browse the store and shop!

You may also click here to follow our video tutorial for the same steps outlined below.

1. Visit our website. Navigate to bloodcenter.stanford.edu and click on the blue “log in” button at the top right of the screen.

2. Enter your donor ID number. This can be found on your donor ID card.

If you don’t have your donor ID number, send an email to sbconlinehelp@lists.stanford.edu or call us at 650-736-7786. We’ll ask you to confirm your date of birth so we can be sure to provide you with the correct ID number.

3. Enter your password and click the login button. Your default password is your birth date, entered as shown on the website, with slashes (example 01/01/1911).

You may personalize your password after logging in to your account. Click the My Profile button, scroll to the password field, and enter a new one.

4. Click on the Loyalty Store button.

5. Browse the store and go shopping! Find your point balance under “Your Donor Rewards” toward the top left of the page.

Click on any of the items to read specific details and to view a larger image. Add items to your cart, check out, and you’ll have your order within a couple weeks.

To check your point balance and shop in the online store, please log on to your donor account here.

Questions about the online store program or an existing order? Send an email to sbconlinehelp@lists.stanford.edu or call us at 650-736-7786.

Tips & Tricks: Tracking Your Cholesterol Online

By Julie Ruel, Social Media Manager, Stanford Blood Center

Click here to view this information in an online tutorial.

Millions of Americans are affected by high cholesterol, which leaves them at an increased risk for heart disease and stroke. Tracking cholesterol levels over time is an important routine for many and an effective way of staying in tune with your health.

At SBC, each time you donate blood, we do a cholesterol screening on the unit and keep record of it for you to track through your donor account. Because we cannot have donors fast leading up to a blood donation, the test we use is a screening, rather than a diagnostic test. The number shown is your total count (it does not break down the different LDL and HDL numbers). The graph you’ll see will allow you to track whether your level increases, decreases, or stays the same over time.

If you’ve donated blood with us since 2005, your results are available online. Here’s how to view your history:

• Browse to our website by clicking here, then enter your donor ID number and password. If you don't know your donor ID number, please send an email to sbconlinehelp@lists.stanford.edu and include your date of birth for verification purposes.

• Click on the “Wellness Check” bar toward the middle of the page.

• Click on the “Cholesterol” bar.

• Specify a date range and click “Submit”. The page will display up to your six most recent results in the date range selected.

Questions about logging on to your donor account or checking Wellness information? Send an email to sbconlinehelp@lists.stanford.edu or call 650-736-7786.

We Know You’d Do It Anyway, But…

By Julie Ruel, Social Media Manager, Stanford Blood Center

As a blood donor, you are a giving individual by design. We’re certain you would donate without recognition and regardless of the day’s giveaway. That said, it’s important to our organization that we don’t take the people behind the blood donations for granted. You are part of a very important, very small population and your loyalty to patients in the community deserves to be recognized.

Our Loyalty Program was designed for the different types of donations available, with an emphasis on frequency of visits. Taking into consideration the different lengths of deferral for each, there are a variety of clubs under our Program’s umbrella.

Annual Frequency

∙ Four Seasons Club: Donating four times* during the calendar year (Jan. 1 through Dec. 31) earns you our popular long-sleeved Four Seasons T-shirt. Each year we unveil a new design, making this a fun item to collect.

The 2012 T-shirt:

Upon your fourth donation, you’ll receive an email with instructions on how to order your shirt. Not sure if we have your email address on file? Log on to your donor account, then click on “My Profile”.

*Double red blood cell (DRBC) donors earn this shirt after two donations due the 16-week deferral period.

∙ Ten Times in 2012 (2013, 2014 and so on): Similar to the structure of the Four Seasons Club, once you reach your tenth donation within the calendar year, you’ve earned a special gift, which we change each year. The gift for 2012 is a 60" metal shaft umbrella seen here:

If you plan on making ten donations this year, please make sure we have your email address on file by logging on to your donor account. We’ll need this in order to send instructions on ordering the gift.

Points Per Visit

Did you know each time you visit us, you earn points to use in our online store? Below is a guide to point accumulations, which reset on Jan. 1 each year:

▪ Visit 1 = 100 points
▪ Visit 2 = 125 points
▪ Visit 3 = 150 points
▪ Visit 4+ = 175 points


This applies to whole blood, platelet, and RBC + plasma donors.

DRBC donors have a slightly different schedule:

▪ Visit 1 = 200 points
▪ Visit 2 = 225 points
▪ Visit 3 = 250 points

To check your point balance and browse the online store, please log on to your donor account here.

Total Lifetime Donations

Those who are able to reach a total of 100 or more lifetime donations join our Precious Mettle club. On the day of the 100th (200th, 300th, etc.) donation, we’ll have a small celebration including a banner showcasing your milestone plus a bag of gifts for you to take home. With your permission, we’ll take a picture of the celebration and feature it on our Facebook page.

In addition, each fall, we host the Precious Mettle Breakfast, a catered event at an off-site venue. Donors enjoy the warm atmosphere of good company, along with guest speakers, breakfast buffet, and no needles!

Membership in each part of our Loyalty Program happens automatically as the different milestones are reached. We keep track of your donation history for you, though we certainly encourage you to do so as well in order to stay on track with your routine!

Questions about our Loyalty Program? Contact Jennifer at czks@stanford.edu or 650-724-7187.

5 Ways to Stay Healthy Through the Holiday Season

By Melissa Ramos, volunteer guest-blogger for Stanford Blood Center

Staying healthy through this season can be especially challenging. It seems that all around you, people have the sniffles or a cough. Taking good care of yourself is key to preventing the flu. Here are a few tips to help keep yourself strong and healthy this year.

Wash your hands
We wash our hands before we eat, but it is important to wash your hands throughout the day. Germs travel easily when you touch your eyes, nose, or mouth after coming into contact. Wash your hands often or carry hand sanitizer with you.

Get Sleep
Most people need 6-8 hours of sleep. If you’re not getting adequate sleep on a regular basis, your body will be vulnerable to getting sick. Help yourself stay healthy by getting enough sleep.

Eat a rainbow
Did you know the more colorful your meal is, the more likely it is to be healthy? Add colorful fruits and vegetables to your diet everyday for a boost in vitamins and anti-oxidants.

Vitamins
Taking a once-daily multi-vitamin will help you get the vitamins you might not get through diet alone.

Flu Shots
Flu shots are available at most pharmacies. According to the CDC, you should get vaccinated if you are living with, or care for, the following: pregnant women, children younger than five, people over 50, anyone with chronic medical conditions, people who live in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, and people who live with or care for those at high risk for complications from flu. Please note: flu shots have no effect on your eligibility to give blood.

And since you’ll be well through fall and winter, you’ll be ready and able to keep up your regular blood donation schedule!

Tips & Tricks: Finding a Blood Drive Near You

By Julie Ruel, Social Media Manager, Stanford Blood Center

Click here to view this information in an online tutorial.

Visiting a mobile blood drive is a convenient way for busy parents, students, and professionals to keep up with their routine of donating blood without having to travel too far. We come to you so you don’t have to come to us! Accounting for about 55% of the total amount of blood we collect, our drives are hosted at college campuses, high schools, churches, and hundreds of companies in the Valley and up the Peninsula.

Geographically, we cover quite a bit of land. You might spot our bloodmobiles traveling south on 101 to Gilroy, north on 280 to San Francisco, cruising along in downtown San Jose or even parked in a residential neighborhood. Searching for a blood drive in a location that’s convenient for you is easy! Just follow these steps.

1. Browse to https://sbcdonor.org.

2. Click on the advanced search link under “Make an Appointment at a Mobile Blood Drive”.

3. In the middle column, enter your desired zip code.
Note that the search radius is set to a default of 5 miles. You may want to change this to 2 miles to narrow in a bit closer. Leave the donation type as “Any” and the date as today (this will allow you to view all blood drives today, going forward). Click Search.

4. Click on the “Mobiles Only” link.

5. Depending on the zip code entered, you may have many results. To narrow in a bit closer to your desired location, click on the “Sort by Distance” link.

6. Find your preferred blood drive and click on the name.

7. Find your preferred time and click on the "Schedule" link to the right.

Here, you will be prompted to log on to your account. Click OK.

8. A. Enter your donor ID number. This can be found on your donor ID card.

If you don’t know your donor ID number, send an email to sbconlinehelp@lists.stanford.edu or call us at 650-736-7786. We’ll ask you to confirm your date of birth so we can be sure to provide you with the correct ID number.

**If this is your first donation with us, click on the link next to “Not yet a donor?” at the top of the page and follow the instructions.

B. Enter your password. Your default password is your birth date, entered as shown on the website, with slashes.

If you would like to personalize your password, after you log in to your account, click the My Profile button, scroll to the password field and enter a new one.

9. You should now see your appointment confirmation. You may print this page or add it to your online calendar.

Donating blood is an activity that many of our dedicated donors treat as an important part of their regular routine. Regardless of where you donate, we acknowledge and appreciate the time and effort involved with each visit.

Making Cream of Wheat a Pumpkiny Treat

Melissa Ramos is a volunteer and guest-blogger for Stanford Blood Center. Here, she shares a fall-inspired, iron-rich recipe to help boost your hemoglobin level in preparation for donating blood.

During the medical history screening, blood donors must meet a hemoglobin-level requirement of at least 12.5 g/dL. One of the causes of low hemoglobin is a low-iron diet. Cream of Wheat is an excellent source of iron and can be prepared quickly compared to other iron-rich sources like beef, chicken, and other meats. Because Cream of Wheat can be rather bland alone, I wanted to share this great fall-inspired recipe that makes Cream of Wheat tasty!

The following recipe came from one of my favorite sites, however I made a few changes to make it even more suitable for preparation of an upcoming blood donation.

Pumpkin Spice Swirl Maple-Date Cream of Wheat

makes 2 bowls

2 cups of water

1/3 cup Cream of Wheat

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

3 Tbsp maple syrup
1/4 cup chopped dates
1/3 cup canned pumpkin
1-2 tsp vegan buttery spread

soy milk for topping (use sparingly)
garnish: dash of cinnamon, chopped dates

optional: chopped pecans



Directions:



1. Bring your water to a boil. Add the salt and Cream of Wheat. Constantly stir gently. Bring to a strong boil, then reduce heat to medium. Be sure to keep a close eye. Once it starts to boil it will overflow quickly!

2. Continue stirring until the cereal thickens. At this point you can stir in the cinnamon, dates and maple syrup.

3. When cereal has cooked into a thick, hydrated consistency (like thick applesauce) turn the heat to low.

4. Stir in the pumpkin over low heat. You can either stir it in completely or you can leave it swirled gently into the cereal.

5. Turn off heat and spoon cereal into bowls. Add the vegan buttery spread, a dash of cinnamon (I added more to give it an extra “spice” flavor) and a splash of milk on top. Add a few leftover chopped dates as garnish.

A few of my own recommendations:

• Dates are a good source of iron. If they don’t appeal to you, try raisins as a great alternative.

• Use the soymilk sparingly. Calcium can inhibit the body’s ability to absorb iron. Although it’s naturally low in calcium, many manufacturers add it to their product.

• Enjoy with a glass of vitamin C-rich grapefruit juice to help your body absorb the iron.

How do you eat your Cream of Wheat? What other meals do you like to cook in preparation of your donation?

Tips and Tricks: Logging on to Your Donor Account

Tweet

By Jennifer Sellen-Reczkowski, Marketing Communications Specialist, Stanford Blood Center

Click here to view this information in an online tutorial.

You’ve just donated blood and you’re wondering if that new all-bacon diet you started has affected your cholesterol level. As a Stanford Blood Center donor, you have access to our online tools, which make it easy to keep your wellness in check and stay on target with donation goals. Follow these steps to get started!

1. Visit our website. Navigate to bloodcenter.stanford.edu and click on the blue “log in” button at the top right of the screen.

2. Enter your donor ID number. This can be found on your donor ID card.

If you don’t have your donor ID number, send an email to sbconlinehelp@lists.stanford.edu or call us at 650-736-7786. We’ll ask you to confirm your date of birth so we can be sure to provide you with the correct ID number. We hope allow for custom usernames in the near future. Please stay tuned for updates.

3. Enter your password. Your default password is your birth date, entered as shown on the website, with slashes (example 01/01/1911).
If you would like to personalize your password, after you log in to your account, click the My Profile button, scroll to the password field and enter a new one.

4. Browse your account. Once logged in, you will be able to:

• view your blood type
• make an appointment
• check cholesterol test results and see vital statistics
• view previous donations
• manage existing appointments
• manage contact information, including address changes
• request an ID card be mailed to you
• shop in the loyalty store

We hope you’ll take advantage of these tools and find them rewarding. Of course the ultimate reward is the reminder that you’re saving lives whenever you donate!