Blood drive slated for Student Lounge
Students have a chance to help suffering blood banks after the Red Cross temporarily suspended use of certain blood units in Georgia.
On Jan. 30, the American Red Cross asked hospitals to temporarily suspend the use of some blood after the quality of the blood was compromised. It was not a recall of the blood, instead precautionary measures after some units of blood were found to have white particles of an unidentified material in them. After closer examination of the particles under a microscope, the Red Cross issued a statement telling hospitals that the white particles are not infectious agents; however, because of this temporary suspension of the Georgia Blood supply, Georgia blood banks are experiencing a severe shortage. Georgia College & State University students have the opportunity to help by donating blood on Feb. 12.
Paul Sedor and Krista Shealy are the sophomore student coordinators for the blood drive. They want the students to understand that the current blood problem has no effect on donor blood, in fact it is even more important to donate right now.
“You cannot get any disease from giving blood,” Sedor said.
The drive will last from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the MSU lounge. Volunteers are needed from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The donation process takes approximately one hour to complete from signing in to refreshments at the canteen. Students can earn Deans Cup points or volunteer hours for their RSO’s; however, Sedor and Shealy don’t want that to be the only reason people volunteer.
“One single donation can save three people’s lives and they are in desperate need of blood right now,” Sedor said.
“Right now there is a shortage of blood across the United States and we need all the blood we can get,” Shealy said.
The American Red Cross needs constant donations of blood.
“Blood only has a shelf life of 42 days, so they are constantly looking to replenish the blood supply,” Shealy said. “They use blood for everything. Some people need regular blood transfusions. Some blood types are really rare and we need people to donate those types of blood. The most common blood type is 0 positive.”
Sedor has one particular reason for donating; “You never know when you will be in need of blood.”
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Feb 7 2003. Filed under News.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0.
You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
