CyrusOne : helps roll up the sleeves for blood drive

CyrusOne helps roll up the sleeves for blood drive

March 23, 2022

Though mask mandates and lockdowns have waned and many have returned to offices, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have wreak havoc on national health. The American Red Cross now faces the worst blood shortage in more than a decade thanks in part to a 10% decline in blood donations since March 2020.

That's why CyrusOne, as a member of the Data Center Coalition, has teamed with Loudoun County [Virginia] Economic Development and the American Red Cross of Loudoun and Prince William Counties for a massive blood drive campaign called "#DataCentersSleeveUp." The campaign, which includes 11 data center and cloud providers, began March 1 (the first day of Red Cross Month in the United States) and extended through March 23 (the date designated by 7×24 Exchange International as "International Data Center Day"). March 23 is also "Red Cross Giving Day."

Right now, the Red Cross limits blood product distributions to hospitals due to the shortage. In fact, some hospitals may not receive one in four blood products they need. CyrusOne and other members of the data center community recognized the problem and jumped on the opportunity to roll up their collective sleeves to help save lives.

Participants were asked to commit to a donation by March 23, with actual donations to be made by April 30, which will allow time for blood collection facilities to accommodate all donors and target donations at communities in greatest need.

CyrusOne had over 10% of our U.S. employees sign up for blood donations and over 420 people from 11 industry partners participated.

"CyrusOne recognizes the importance of ensuring adequate blood supply in the communities where our teams live and work, and in raising awareness of the need to address our current critical national blood shortage," said Kyle Myers, Senior Director of Environmental Health, Safety and Sustainability at CyrusOne. "We are proud to participate in this campaign and provide the CyrusOne team with an opportunity to roll up our collective sleeves, join with others in the data center industry, and make an important contribution to the health and welfare of the communities we call home."

Red Cross of Loudoun and Prince William Counties Executive Director Erwin Stierle noted blood is precious because it cannot be manufactured or produced - blood can only come from compassionate donors.

"Because of this, there is always a need for local heroes, those willing to roll up a sleeve and give the gift of life," Stierle said. "We are thrilled the Data Center Coalition has stepped up to help meet this important need."

Data Center Coalition President Josh Levi said his organization was glad to partner with Loudoun County Economic Development and the American Red Cross of Loudoun and Prince William Counties to help address the blood shortage.

"By bringing together data center owners, operators and our ecosystem at large, we are able to better serve the communities and people where we work and live," Levi said.

Loudoun County Executive Director of Economic Development Buddy Rizer recalled the long

history of partnering with the data center industry in Loudoun, the largest data center market in the world.

"Our region continues to benefit from the significant contributions from data center owners and operators, which includes substantial tax revenues that support our schools, roads and other local priorities, collaborative partnerships with our schools and educators, and philanthropic and community building activities like this one," Rizer said. "We thank them for their ongoing collaboration."