If you’re reading this, you’ve spotted letters have suddenly gone missing from our beloved Peoplebank and Porterallen logos. You’ve probably also noticed they’ve been painted an eye-catching, fire-engine red.

Before you jump to conclusions, this isn’t a ‘Christmas thing’. Although, we must say, we’re excited for holiday celebrations too!

So where have the A, O and B in Peoplebank and Porterallen gone?

A, O and B represent the main blood types, which are in danger of going missing.

Three people in the world need a blood product every second. And with blood being as versatile as it is, it can help:

• cancer patients,
• people with blood diseases,
• people with anaemia,
• surgical patients (e.g. those undergoing open heart surgery),
• people with stomach and kidney diseases,
• orthopaedic patients (e.g. those requiring joint replacements), and
• women who experience issues in pregnancy.
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In fact, blood you donate can be made into 22 different medical treatments (Australian Red Cross, 2016). And every blood donation can save three lives (Australian Red Cross, 2016).

In the last decade, there has been a 30% drop in new donors across 25 countries (Hong Kong Red Cross, 2016). And so, in many countries, not enough blood is being donated to keep up with patient needs. Looking at the countries in which we operate, we found that:

• in Australia, 100,000 new blood donors are needed in the next year to meet patient needs (Australian Red Cross, 2016);
• in Hong Kong, the daily target of donors, which sits at 1,100, is not being met (Hong Kong Red Cross, 2016); and
• in Singapore, only 1.8% of the residential population donates blood despite the fact that 15 units of blood are needed every hour (Singapore Red Cross, 2016).
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So, to raise awareness around the cause, Peoplebank and Porterallen are spreading the word through Red Cross’ #missingtype campaign. For the months of December and January, the letters A, O and B will go missing from the Peoplebank and Porterallen logos on our websites and in our email signatures. We are proud to say that many of our leaders and staff have also committed to donating blood to show their support.

If you can muster the courage, we encourage you to get behind the campaign too and donate blood at your nearest donor centre. The cost is small and the impact HUGE. And Red Cross have made it simple and easy to book an appointment, whether in Australia, Hong Kong or Singapore.

Follow our campaign on Facebook and Instagram and don’t forget to hashtag #missingtype #peoplebank. We’d love to see how you are supporting the cause whether it’s by giving blood, spreading the word with this Facebook profile picture overlay or otherwise!