DAVENPORT-- Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center is rolling out a new tol to help grow its donor pool.
The blood center is now asking something else from donors; they want them to help spread the word.
"Save your humility for something else, and brag about being a blood donor," says Kirby Winn, the MVRBC public relations manager.
Over the years, staff say it's getting harder and harder to find new donors through traditional methods like phone calls.
"The phone is still effective for us its just not as effective as it used to be. Many people like getting phone calls, others don't pick up," says Winn.
Now the center is turning to social media, to Facebook, for help.
"This is a new tool for us to reach people right where they are," says Winn.
People can now go into their account settings and add "blood donor" to their Facebook identity for friends and family to see. Local blood centers then get that information so they can send messages to those people when they need donations.
They're hoping this new tool can keep their donor chairs full.
This month a portion of sales from Necker's Jewelers will go to the MVRBC. The blood center says this money will be used to support their LifeSavings grant program which provides funding to schools that host mobile blood drives.