Ryan ChartrandCal Poly’s University Police Department (UPD) hosted its annual blood drive yesterday with the San Luis Obispo United Blood Services Central Coast, collecting blood from nearly 90 donors.
“We’ve actually tried to have one every year,” said UPD Support Services Coordinator Donna Jordan. “It’s a great thing to do: Give blood, save lives.”
Two donation buses were parked in front of Mott Gym and donors gave blood from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. All blood donors received a shirt and could enter a drawing for one of four lunches at Garden Grille, courtesy of Cal Poly Campus Dining.
A UPD booth was also available on the site to answer questions related to the department as well as campus parking and access services.
Joseph Crockett, an economics junior, has donated four times before; three of those times were on campus.
“I recommend that everyone donate blood,” Crockett said. “Every little pint helps … plus you get free cookies.”
The San Luis Obispo United Blood Services (UBS) acquires blood by holding local blood drives at schools and other organizations; they also designate recruiters to call residents for appointments to donate.
UBS said that some local high school instructors award extra credit to those who donate blood.
Brinn Baker, donor relations specialist for UBS, said that they rely on students to donate and that they compose a significant percentage of San Luis Obispo County’s blood donors.
“Students make up a lot of the eligible population to donate,” Baker said.
UBS holds around 15 blood drives every quarter at Cal Poly, including three on Mott Lawn, and is “hitting it hard for the beginning of the quarter,” Baker said.
A blood drive will be held in the main lounge of Sierra Madre Hall today from 3 to 7 p.m. Additional drives will be held throughout the month in Yosemite, Fremont and Tenaya residence halls.
Drives are often sponsored for free by the residence halls, but occasionally recreation majors and greek organizations host as well.
The typical turnout for blood drives on campus is around 50 people, although only 40 or so are actually eligible to donate, Baker said.
The minimum age to donate blood is 17. Donors must weigh at least 110 pounds, be off antibiotics for at least 24 hours and have photo identification.
After donating blood, donors should wait at least eight weeks before donating again and 16 weeks if they gave double in order for the body to replenish its supply.
An estimated 60 percent of the American population will need blood or blood components sometime during their lives. An estimated 14 million units of red blood cells are given to about 4.8 million Americans every year.
Donated blood is sent to a blood center laboratory for typing and testing. It is then labeled, stored at a certain temperature and distributed to hospitals.
Since it can take up to two days to test and prepare some blood components, volunteer donors are needed on a continual basis in order to maintain the community blood supply at all times. Currently, blood is kept in blood banks for up to 42 days before it is discarded.
This week’s online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences revealed that a large amount of stored blood nationwide lacks an appropriate amount of nitric oxide, which helps keep blood vessels open.
This explained the recent concern of physicians over the increase in heart attacks and strokes in transfusion patients.