Laura Hutton
Co Editor-in-Chief
On April 8, McDaniel College’s students and staff saved up to 348 lives at the blood drive hosted biannually by the College Activities office. Through donations made in the Forum, 116 units of blood were collected. Each unit of blood can help up to three patients.
Erica Immler, the operations supervisor for College Activities, organizes the blood drive each semester. Student volunteers from Alpha Sigma Phi, Alpha Phi Omega, and Gamma Sigma Sigma helped Immler get the word out. They sat at a table outside Glar scheduling appointments and helping to keep students and staff organized during the blood drive.
Immler has worked at McDaniel since 2002, minus the 18 months she spent at Carroll Community College. She has been in the College Activities office since 2006. The job of organizing the blood drive, as Immler describes it, was thrown into her lap. However, she embraced the opportunity to inform herself and the McDaniel community on the importance of donating blood.
“Our region needs to collect 1100 units of blood a day to meet patient needs,” explained Bonnie Rill, senior account executive at the Greater Chesapeake and Potomac Region of the American Red Cross. Each donation consists of a unit of blood, which is about a pint. All blood types are needed, but since type O is the universal donor it can be given to patients with different types of blood.
Rill explained a possible solution to the blood shortage. “If donors who donate blood once a year would donate twice a year there would not be a blood shortage,” she said.
Many students have their own reasons for donating blood. “When my grandfather was alive he used to have to get blood transfusions every two weeks,” explained freshman Erik Brennan, “and sometimes he would have to skip a week because of a shortage, and I figure I have blood to spare.”
Brennan donated blood last semester when the American Red Cross was on campus and says he will “definitely” be donating blood in the future.
However, not everyone is eligible to donate blood. According to the American Red Cross Web site, a donor must be at least 17, or 16 with parental consent, and must weigh at least 110 pounds. Recent international travel, piercings, and tattoos can also negate one’s ability to be a donor.
Senior Amy Faby wanted to give blood last year, but her recent tattoo prevented her from being eligible. This year she was able to and “wanted to do it and help save some lives,” explained Faby.
The most common disqualifier for blood donation is low iron. Immler credits this to the poor diet of college students. The American Red Cross Web site explains that protein-rich foods help improve iron levels and vitamin C helps the body absorb the iron ingested.
Junior Andrea Mills could not donate due to a low iron reading. She had not been planning to donate blood until she saw the drive set up in the Forum. Mills wants to try again and explained, “Donating blood is really important because someone, somewhere, every day needs a blood donation.”
Many students do not donate blood due to a fear of needles or a fear of blood, while others are concerned about the long wait, which Brennan described as “taking forever.”
Overall the students had positive experiences. Senior Anja Jones donated for the first time and described her experience: “It really makes me feel good knowing that the little bit of blood that I gave could save a person’s life.”
After donating it is important to rest and replenish fluids. According to Rill, it takes the body 24 hours to restore the volume of blood lost and six weeks to build the red cell count back up.
Although the blood drive at McDaniel is only announced to students, if a member of the Westminster community was to hear about a drive on campus and show up, they would not be turned away, said Immler.
In recent years, the length of the blood drive has been extended from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. The Red Cross has also encouraged Immler to extend the drive to a two-day event. The Forum is the best space to hold the drive and concerns were expressed by Immler regarding the availability of the space for a two-day drive. More importantly, however, is the interest on campus. The single-day drive is a packed event and the turnout of April 8 yielded an average number of units for a McDaniel drive.