LAFAYETTE, La. — An Instagram-famous cat, a furry French bulldog and a tiny-but-mighty hedgehog are leading an effort to rally other human-loving animals to “Save the Humans”. Vitalant, one of the nation’s largest comprehensive transfusion medicine organizations with 127 nationwide blood donation centers, recruited spokes-animals to help remind humans about the importance of donating blood.
“We love our humans, and we are worried that if they forget to donate blood we may lose some of our best friends,” said Coby, the effort’s spokescat who has over 1.3 million Instagram followers. “Humans are always creating new ways to save animals, and now it is our turn to take charge and remind them how easy it is to save lives by donating blood. We can’t live without you (who would give us our catnip?) so please donate blood to your local community Vitalant donation center – it is so easy!”
In the coming months, all kinds of friendly animals will put aside their species differences to focus on their common cause: saving the humans. In two recent studies, it was determined that people are more likely to donate to charities and causes that benefit animals versus humans. Vitalant recruited the animals for the new campaign that intends to grab the attention of more humans and help them understand the life-transforming potential of donating blood.
“There is a constant need for blood in Louisiana and throughout the U.S. – locally, 250 donations are needed each day to meet the needs of people throughout south Louisiana,” said Danny Garrick, president of Vitalant operations in the Southeast. “We hope that humans answer the animals’ rallying cry and donate blood to help save the lives of others in their communities.”
In south Louisiana, Vitalant has three donation centers and hosts up to an average of 100 blood drives every month. Visit the Lafayette donor center at 1503 Bertrand Drive, or visit Vitalant.org to find a mobile blood drive near you. Follow the animals’ efforts at Vitalant.org/SaveTheHumans.
“Let’s save the humans! Donate blood – it’s so easy…and we need them around to give us treats and belly rubs,” said Franklin the French bulldog.
