One pint of donated blood can save up to three lives, according to the American Red Cross website, and on Wednesday, Feb. 18 Keene State College students lined up to donate. KSC hosted the American Red Cross Blood Drive in the Mabel Brown Room, which was transformed to fit the needs of the volunteers, nurses, students and staff.
Student volunteers and donors came together to support the American Red Cross, who is “the largest single supplier of blood and blood products in the United States, collecting and processing approximately 40 percent of the blood supply and distributing it to about 2,600 hospitals and transfusion centers nationwide,” according to their website.
Aoife Corry, an exchange student from Ireland, said this was her first time donating blood.
“I’ve always wanted to do it back home and then my professor told me that it was going on so I came down and signed up,” she explained.
Colton McCracken / Equinox Staff
She said she has always wanted to donate because it’s a good cause and she has had friends who have needed blood, so she has seen it help people firsthand.
According to the American Red Cross website, five million patients need blood every year and the only way to get blood is through volunteer donors. As she waited to donate, Corry said she was neither nervous or excited but she predicted, “I’m probably going to faint.”
As for why she advises others to donate, Corry said, “You never know what is going to happen so if you’re ever in need of it you’ll want it to be there, and the same goes for everyone, so why not help to make sure it is?”
Other students, such as junior Cassandra Cloutier, have donated blood at KSC before.
Cloutier said this was her third time donating blood through American Red Cross at KSC.
She said she really likes knowing she could save up to three lives by donating a few minutes of her time.
“Plus,” she said, “I really don’t have a problem with needles, so why not?”
She added that for the blood drive the Mabel Brown Room was transformed into a comfortable space.
“It’s a nice relaxing setting because they play music, and [the nurses and volunteers] are always really nice and talkative,” she said.
Julia Hart, another student who donated on Wednesday, said she estimates she has donated blood about 15 times.
“There is always a demand for blood, so I try to go as often as I can, about every eight weeks or as much as possible,” she said.
According to the American Red Cross website, donors must wait 56 days, or eight weeks, in between donations.
Hart explained when she is home she donates at a local church near her house that is always hosting blood drives. Hart said, “It’s a really good cause, and it doesn’t hurt.”
Along with donating blood, students also donated their time at the blood drive. Volunteers Casey Walden and Melanie Zorko said they are both part of the Delta Xi Phi sorority and picked up some shifts to help out. They said since they are both ineligible to donate blood, they choose to donate their time instead.
“We make sure people sit down after they donate blood and we try to persuade them to have something to eat or drink before they leave so it’s less likely they’ll feel dizzy,” Walden said.
Zorko added, “Everyone seems really happy after. They know they did a good thing so that’s probably why they feel pretty good.”
“Everyone is really nice and it’s a really caring environment,” Walden said.
Although Kya Roumimper, the Coordinator of Events and Advocacy for the Community Service Office, was contacted for comment, she did not respond before The Equinox’s deadline. However, the volunteers and donors said they saw the blood drive as a great way to bring people together for a good cause.
According to the American Red Cross website, they hold more than 200,000 blood drives each year and there are several locations to donate blood in the Keene area, where students are welcome. Donor Cloutier said, “If you have the opportunity to save a life, why wouldn’t you?”
Taylor Thomas can be contacted at tthomas@kscequinox.com
