Red Cross mobile blood drives wrap up in Quincy area

Published 2:56 pm Tuesday, June 16, 2026

QUINCY — One of the Quincy area’s final mobile blood drives through the American Red Cross takes place Thursday at the Oakley-Lindsay Center, and one of the top blood donation teams in the nation hopes to see every spot filled.

The Bleeding Arts team spearheads the drive slated for 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Register to take part, and in remaining area blood drives, online at redcross.org/give-blood.

The Quincy-based team ranks 254th, or in the top quarter of the top 1%, of the almost 77,000 teams working with the Red Cross and has impacted 8,000 lives with its donations.

“It’s been so gratifying to be the blood program leader that made that kind of impact,” said Arts Quincy Executive Director Laura Hesseltine, who launched the team some eight years ago as a way to compete with friends committed to donating blood.

The team developed a strong following thanks, in part, to providing recognition to donors and “really good snacks” with help from community partners.

“Bleeding Arts was born out of friendly competition for the pursuit of goodness for everybody,” she said. “We had drives scheduled all the way to the end of the year.”

But the Red Cross will cease mobile blood collections in Quincy effective June 30.

“This change is driven by logistical challenges and rising operational costs and helps ensure we use our resources efficiently while continuing to serve patients,” American Red Cross of Illinois Regional Communications Manager Jayce Eustice said in a statement.

“Beginning in July, we encourage individuals to make future appointments at our Quincy blood donation center, located at 3000 N. 23rd Street, that will continue to offer opportunities to donate whole blood, platelets and plasma.”

Another nonprofit blood center based in Iowa wants to fill the gap in mobile blood collection.

Davenport-based ImpactLife provides blood components for more than 130 hospitals and emergency medical services organizations in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin – including Memorial Hospital in Carthage, McDonough District Hospital in Macomb and St. John’s in Springfield – and wants to work with groups interested in sponsoring community blood drives at schools, businesses, service clubs and churches in the Tri-States.

Work already is underway with groups in Hamilton and Warsaw along with Kahoka, Mo., and the donor services team looks to work with more.

“We want to work with people willing to give blood wherever they are,” said Kirby Winn, manager, public relations for ImpactLife which has a service area including Adams, Brown, Hancock and Pike counties and portions of Northeast Missouri.

“People are providing blood that can be used for patient care, but it’s a community event. Friends come together. They’re doing good together,” Winn said. “A lot of times people don’t come, give blood and leave. They stay to sign people in, provide treats, for the conversation, the good feeling.”

ImpactLife offers 22 donor centers and does around 5,000 mobile blood drives every year. Staff based in Springfield as well as Ottumwa and Burlington, Iowa, and St. Louis likely will work with blood drives in the Tri-States.

Donors will notice similarities with the Red Cross blood drives including eligibility requirements and tracking donation totals.

“We’re providing some continuity there for people who want to continue as they’ve done,” Winn said. “We’re looking forward to having conversations about that.”

Hesseltine understands the Red Cross’ concerns.

“Anytime you’re taking your mission on the road it is more expensive than doing it in your house, but I also think there’s something so valuable to be gained by activating networks that exist,” Hesseltine said. “When it happens at a church, at the KC (Knights of Columbus), at Arts Quincy, we’re activating different parts of the community to care about something we should all care about.”

She’ll still encourage people to donate blood and donate herself.

“Will it be as fun as an Arts Quincy drive with our Yum Factory treats and me throwing out prizes and coffee mugs? Probably not,” she said.

“What the decision really is going to do to the region is lose connectivity with that network in some ways that will definitely impact blood supply.”

More information about working with ImpactLife on mobile blood drives is available by contacting account manager Kali Eastin at keastin@impactlife.org or 319-850-2457 and online at bloodcenter.org/host.