The tagline for this 1956 ad from the National Blood Program was “Blood Doesn’t Grow on Trees”. It reminded the reader that her help was needed to replenish the national blood supply.
Vast quantities of blood are needed — urgently needed — to help save the lives of the men wounded in combat, and of the hurt and sick in hospitals at home.
I found the simple black and white ad to be effective at a time in the mid-century when blood was needed. The Korean War had just ended and polio was a significant threat.
Blood is also needed to produce gamma globulin, the new serum that promises to do much to protect children from polio and measles.
I was curious about the National Blood Program. Was it a government program that still exists? I was not able to find anything in the US called the National Blood Program. After a closer look at the logo, I found that it was a public service project from the advertising council that no longer exists.
It made a good case for why someone should make arrangements to donate blood. The statement is true today.
Human blood is manufactured in only one place — the human body
Mid-Century Page 
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