The results are in for the American Red Cross blood drive that came to campus last week. The four day drive yielded a total of 369 units of blood.
Day one of the drive collected the lowest amount of blood at 72 units and day three collected the most at 130 units.
The numbers were disapointing but that a lot of outside factors affected the turnout said. Jennifer Rumsey, a University student and intern for blood services at the Toledo chapter of the American Red Cross.
“February is usually our lowest drive and November is usually our highest,” Rumsey said.
A combination of Valentine’s Day weekend, bad weather and seasonal sicknesses are all possible factors of the low-donor turnout for February, Rumsey said.
One of the donors that did not allow bad weather to stop him from donating was sophomore Justin Brenner. In response to the weather Brenner said, “I go to school in Bowling Green.”
Another reason students might not have donated is that they were unaware they can donate twice a semester, Rumsey said . In fact, if students meet all medical requirements they are eligible to donate blood every 56 days. A few reasons donors might be denied include having received a recent tattoo or piercing, having a cold or having been out of the country for six months.
Despite donor turnouts, volunteers at the drive kept busy helping registration and “the canteen”, a rest area where donors are provided with snacks and fluids as well as monitored for their health.
“They were very attentive,” Brenner said about Red Cross volunteers.
Approximately 35 to 40 people volunteered each day, including American Red Cross “regulars” as well as University students. On-campus organizations involved with Dance Marathon were also given the opportunity to earn “spirit points” for working the drive during February.
American Red Cross volunteers were hoping February’s results would mirror those of the drive held in November, which collected between 500 to 600 units of blood.
Rumsey attributes the higher numbers in November to the “Blood Bowl”, the competition between the University and the University of Toledo.
“I think the competition helped us with our numbers,” Rumsey said. “Our drive was the week before the Bowling Green vs. Toledo game, so I think that drew a lot more people.” The third and final blood drive for the year will be coming to campus April 22 to 25, however, a theme for the event is still needed.
“We usually try to give something to people that come out, and we base our theme around that,” Rumsey said.
Donors for February’s drive were given American Red Cross baseball caps to match the drive’s theme of “Hats Off to BGSU”. The “hats off” theme was based on the University’s winning performance in November’s “blood bowl”.
The blood collected at the drive will be distributed to hospitals as well as local organizations on a “need-for” basis.