Give the Gift of Life This Holiday Season

Why do you donate? Whether your answer is to save lives, to get the post-donation snacks, to help someone in your community or to just pass the time, there is no wrong answer! Donating blood is one of the most selfless acts we can perform, especially when we donate locally.

Community blood banks like LifeServe Blood Center were created to service our communities — hence the name! Our team members work and live in the towns we serve and we’re proud to be a part of each community: the community where we get up in the morning and say goodnight at the end of the day, the community our children have soccer tournaments in and travel around the neighborhood selling candy for the school fundraiser.

Partnerships with Local DSM Hospitals

For 56 years we have traveled to these communities to collect blood, only to turn around and give it right back. LifeServe Blood Center is the sole provider of all blood and blood products to over 120 hospitals in our communities, including all Greater Des Moines (DSM) hospitals, amounting to more than 150,000 units of blood. It seems unfair to collect blood from an area if it will not benefit them, so we don’t do it.

When donors choose to donate with another blood collection organization in our community, their donation does not support their local hospital. Only blood collected by LifeServe Blood Center is provided to our local hospitals: UnityPoint Health, MercyOne, Broadlawns and more right here in DSM.

Our team members work hard year-round to make sure that we’re always able to provide blood products to our hospital partners. We work extra hard around the holidays, knowing that several factors work against us each winter. As the holidays near and our donors become busy with shopping, traveling and seeing family, time becomes a precious commodity and blood donation appointments are pushed to the back burner.

Give Back at the 2019 Holiday Promenade

LifeServe Blood Center actively works to make donating blood easy and convenient! We will be opening our doors and extending our hours for the Holiday Promenade in Downtown DSM’s Historic East Village.

On Friday, November 22 the LifeServe Des Moines Donor Center will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. for blood donations and will reopen from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. for Holiday Promenade activities, including performances by Ballet Des Moines and Santa himself. From catching a ballet performance to telling Santa your holiday wishes, there are plenty of reasons to stop by and celebrate the holiday season with us this year!

For day two of the Holiday Promenade, we will extend our hours on Saturday, November 23! We’ll be open from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. to allow more time for our community to give back around the holidays.

Taking the time to donate locally and save three lives is an important act, so we want to show our appreciation. All donors who give back at our Des Moines Donor Center during the Holiday Promenade, either Friday, November 22 or Saturday, November 23, will receive a holiday gift from us after doing so to thank you for your generous gift of life! Plus, beginning Monday, November 25, our very popular festive holiday socks will be hitting the online store for just 200 points!

What if you can’t make it out to the Holiday Promenade? No problem! LifeServe Blood Center has two donor centers in DSM, the Historic East Village location and another location in Urbandale. We also have five other donation centers around the state, including in: Ames, Marshalltown, Fort Dodge, Mason City and Sioux City.

If you aren’t near a donor center this holiday season, you can find us traveling to you. We host mobile blood drives six days a week in community city halls, churches, businesses, schools and more. Find a donation opportunity near you by visiting lifeservebloodcenter.org!

Downtown Des Moines (DSM) is a growing, vibrant community that offers the energy, sophistication, housing and attractions of a burgeoning city with a brilliant future. It’s also easy to visit with plentiful and affordable street and ramp parking options.