Sterile Packaging Day united the medical packaging community under the theme, “From Foundations to Futures.”
The in-person celebration, held on February 5, 2025, at MD&M West in Anaheim, California, took on additional significance because volunteers and donors helped to replenish local blood supplies for fire-ravaged communities in the Los Angeles area.
“The damage from the wildfires was unprecedented and unimaginable,” says Kathleen Daly Mascolo, marketing chair of the Sterilization Packaging Manufacturers Council (SPMC®) and vice president of Beacon Converters, Inc. “Our organization founded Sterile Packaging Day to both raise awareness for our industry and give back in some way.”
Proud History
To understand how the SPMC® blood drive came about, we need to go back more than three years. That’s when the council’s Marketing Committee first brainstormed the idea of holding a blood drive during Sterile Packaging Day.
Credit goes to Amy Stewart, medical product development manager at Printpack, Mascolo says. Stewart proposed the plan and immediately ran it up the flagpole with the folks at Informa, which organizes and produces the MD&M West trade show. Informa was immediately receptive to the concept.
SPMC® and Informa partnered with the American Red Cross, and the annual blood drive has become the signature event for Sterile Packaging Day’s in-person celebration.
“Securing donors for the blood drive usually takes a considerable effort,” Mascolo says.
Not so this year.
Strong Showing
The wildfires added a palpable sense of unity and purpose, and donors were waiting in line at the Anaheim Convention Center as soon as the blood drive opened at 9:30 a.m. By midday, all donation slots were full, and the Red Cross’ online sign-up form was no longer accepting appointments. Walk-ins, however, were welcomed until 4 p.m.
First in line was Lisa McTigue Pierce, executive editor of Packaging Digest magazine. Pierce has made it a tradition to donate blood on Sterile Packaging Day and to help raise awareness for the event.
To recognize her participation, Pierce and dozens of others were photographed in the 2025 Sterile Packaging Day’s commemorative frame.
Many donors were locally based attendees and exhibitors who wanted to support their community; others felt a sense of solidarity with their host region.
Although SPMC® is awaiting final numbers from the Red Cross, early estimates show a 50% increase in donations over 2024’s event. This would make the 2025 Sterile Packaging Day blood drive the organization’s most successful to date.
“‘From Foundations to Futures’ was a salute to the advances in medical sterile packaging and the innovation on the horizon,” Mascolo says. It was also a way to commemorate SPMC®’s 30th anniversary and celebrate the fifth year of Sterile Packaging Day.
“Witnessing the power of this year’s blood drive gave our Sterile Packaging Day theme additional meaning. It demonstrated that the foundational safety sterile packaging provides can make a difference in the future of many lives.”
SPMC® is making plans for Sterile Packaging Day 2026, which will be celebrated on February 4. Additional details will be available soon.
Editor’s note: In the feature image, the Sterile Packaging Day Blood Drive is busy on Sterile Packaging Day 2025 at MD&M West in Anaheim, California. Photo submitted by SPMC®.
Lourdes Pogue is partner and creative director at Merakke. Reach her at lourdes@merakke.com.