This past Friday, Phi Sigma Sigma sorority (Phi Sig) partnered with the Red Cross for a blood drive to give back to the community. This is an event that is run frequently by the Red Cross, letting a donor give blood every 60-90 days or six times per year. Recently though, there has been a national blood donation shortage, affecting all fields.
Account Manager and Donor Recruitment for the Red Cross, Adriana Collemacine, said she first started donating blood in high school, which led to her current involvement with the organization.
“I love it. I actually got into it as a regular donor,” said Collemacine. “At one of my donations, I was talking with one of the phlebotomists and found out that only 3% of Americans regularly donate.”
“I thought that was absolutely alarming, especially when you consider we can’t manufacture blood,” she added. “We solely rely on the help of donors donating blood to maintain the blood supply and handle different treatments like cancer treatment, accidents, premature babies, all of those.”
One of those returning donors who attended Friday’s event and many past events was a retired medical assistant named Kimberly.
“As a kid, I couldn’t because I was anemic, but now I can, so I give,” she said. “I [donate blood] every 90 days.”
Kimberly also explained that she is blood type A positive while her husband is O positive, but her husband does double red, which means Kimberly’s husband gives two types of blood cells in one process.
One of the most recent concerns in the U.S. is the national blood donation shortage. Collemacine explained the importance of donating blood.
“The shortage is alarming, but it gives an opportunity for blood donation to be highlighted at more of a national level because if you are not aware of its importance, donating blood is out of play, out of mind,” Collemacine said. “If someone doesn’t come up and ask you to donate blood, most of the time people don’t think about it.”
First-year Hannah Leary explained Phi Sig’s involvement with not just the Red Cross, but other philanthropic events.
“We really like to sponsor different things and we thought this was the perfect event to do so,” said Leary. “We do a 5K in the fall and raise money; we usually do a dog walk event towards the end of the school year as well.”
With the connection to Phi Sig, the sorority is able to drive a younger audience to donate blood. Collemacine explained that there is a need for younger donors, and while older donors are still eligible, the younger generation is needed for the future of blood donation.
These blood drives vary for each Red Cross organization, but if interested, you can visit the local American Red Cross in Keene.
Sophia Merenda can be contacted at
