STATEWIDE — January is a month filled with new goals, resolutions and hopeful beginnings. It is also National Blood Donor Month, and Vitalant is paying tribute to its dedicated donors and encouraging people to save the lives of others by donating blood throughout the month. To reinforce the effort, Vitalant’s three spokes-animals (an Instagram-famous cat, a French bulldog and a tiny-but-mighty hedgehog) are coming together to encourage people to help others this month through the simple act of donating blood as part of their “Save the Humans” campaign.

“Happy 2019 humans! Your furry friends want you to start your new year off on the right foot by becoming a lifesaver through the simple act of donating blood. We love you and need our best friends around,” said Coby, the effort’s Instagram-famous spokes-cat.

The month of January is one of the most difficult times of year to collect enough blood to meet the needs of communities. Cold and snowy weather can lead to the cancellation of blood drives and donors often become too sick to donate due to cold and flu season.

“There is a constant need for blood - in fact, more than 400 blood donations are needed each day to meet the needs of people in Colorado alone,” Vitalant President and CEO Dave Green said. “National Blood Donor Month is a critical time for people to donate, and we hope that people of all ages will start the New Year by realizing their life-transforming potential of giving blood. These vital donations truly transform lives in communities across the United States.”

Statistics show that nearly 60 percent of blood donations come from people over 40, and nearly 45 percent come from people older than 50. Vitalant and its animal partners hope that new donors will also step-up to help those in need throughout the country.

“Blood donation saves 12,000 human lives a day and is one of the easiest ways people can make a positive impact on the world. If younger people don’t start donating, we could run out. Take it from me - needles are no big deal,” said the spokes-hedgehog.

In Colorado, Vitalant has eight donation centers open between five and seven days a week and mobile blood drives daily throughout the state. Learn more at vitalant.org and follow the animals’ efforts at Vitalant.org/SaveTheHumans.

About Vitalant

Vitalant is the nation’s second largest community blood service provider, supplying comprehensive transfusion medicine services for nearly 1,000 hospitals and health care partners for patients in need across 40 states. Vitalant inspires local communities to serve the needs of others and transform lives through the selfless act of donating blood. Every day, almost 5,000 blood donations are needed to meet the needs of people throughout the country, and Vitalant’s 780,000 donors supply 1.8 million donations a year. In addition to blood products, Vitalant offers customers transfusion services, medical consulting, quality guidance, ongoing education, research and more. For more information and to schedule a donation, visit vitalant.org or call 877-258-4825 (877-25-VITAL). Join the conversation about impacting the lives of others on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.