The Red Cross Blood Drive Reveals Growing Shortage

 03.03.2021

It’s time to roll up your sleeves and give back to the community. The Red Cross, working with the Center for Faith Engagement, held a blood drive on Wednesday, Feb. 24, at the Pioneer Memorial Church Commons. Students were able to sign up for the blood drive either to donate or volunteer using the UFaith app. All 70 of the available donation slots were filled.
        Blood donations from volunteers is a necessity to keep hospitals running smoothly. However, due to the pandemic, there has been a shortage of  donations as many donors don’t feel safe donating. In response, the Red Cross has taken many precautions and developed a new system to ensure the safety of their donors as well as their staff during these uncertain times. Some of these precautions include sanitizing between each donor, having appropriate social distancing, and separating tasks to prevent cross-contact.
        Kristin Ferrer (senior, biology, public health) commented, “The blood drive made donating blood as easy and comfortable as possible! Checking in and the actual blood donation was really efficient and I felt safe the whole time thanks to the warm and friendly staff.”
        Teachers and staff provided incentives such as extra credit to students who were willing to donate and volunteer. While donation is essential, volunteers also play a role during registration to allow nurses to attend to more donors. Many students felt the need to donate after witnessing first hand just how precious these donations are.
        Jonathan Castiglioni (sophomore, biology) said, “During the last two months of last year, I was working at a local hospital in the ICU and TCU units, and you can see a drastic need for blood especially during this pandemic. Every unit is so precious and this is what inspires me to keep on donating.”
        Although there was a good turnout at the blood drive, we still need to do as much as we can as a community. This can include clubs hosting their own blood drives to encourage more students on campus to donate, or even going off campus to participate in other local blood drive events. Regardless of how you choose to serve, there is an ongoing need in our community that we have the opportunity to alleviate.
        Teela Ruehle (director of Student Missions & Service Projects for the Center for Faith Engagement) shared, “We could only have 70 people donate for the whole day, so if another club wanted to host the event, we would be happy to help them do it on campus.”
        Information regarding the next blood drive and any other service projects such as the currently running Route 2 Raise can be found on the UFaith App. If you or your club are interested in hosting a blood drive or any other service project, you can stop by the Center for Faith Engagement in the Campus Center from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or email them at engagefaith@andrews.edu.