American Red Cross Blood Drive Held in Green Room

Managing Editor

Photo by Linna Jones

Reading- Junior Alayna Davis sits with junior Sheena Goodwin as she reads the manual before going to the history booth at the American Red Cross Blood Drive. Approximately 117 students signed up to donate blood.

      The Red Cross Blood Drive collected 97 units of blood over the two-day blood drive held in the John F. Gibson University Center’s Green Room Sept. 29-30.

   The organization collected 52 units of blood Sept. 29 and 45 units Sept. 30. Approximately 117 students signed up to donate.

   “We appreciate the students coming out and donating,” Kelley England with Donor Recruitment said. “Each donation can save up to three lives.”

  The Red Cross collected two types of donations: whole blood and double red blood cells. For a donor who gives whole blood, they give all parts of their blood, but those who donate double red cells have their blood filtered through a machine to remove red blood cells, which returns the plasma and saline back to the donor. Double red blood cell donors have two bags compared to the whole blood donor who has one.

   According to eligibility requirements on the American Red Cross’s Web site, Donors must:

•  Must be healthy
•  Be at least 17- years old or 16-years old if allowed by state law.
•  Weigh 110 pounds or not have donated whole blood in the last 8 weeks (56 days) or double red cells in the last 16 weeks (112 days).
•  Students who donate at high school drives and donors younger than 19 years old must also meet height and weight requirements.

   First-year student Morgan Cole, a biology student from Wickes, Ark., said why she gave blood.

   “If I could save somebody’s life, it would make my day to help somebody out,” Cole said. 

  The organization works to collect 500 units of blood a day to supply or supplement 56 hospitals in the Greater Ozarks and Arkansas Blood Region.

   On an average day, they collect more than 400 units of blood. Each unit, when separated into its components, can assist up to three patients in need. The components include; plasma, palettes and red blood cells.

   Gibson described the need for blood as constant. They always need the blood types O positive, B negative and O negative. Gibson said the Red Cross is always in urgent need for units of O negative blood and B negative donors as well. O negative blood is also known as the universal donor.

   The amount of blood needed varies by the type of hospital and the different types of patients.

   “We serve many hospitals who receive patients for initial care as well as those who provide advanced surgery and trauma and long term care such as for cancer including some you would know such as Arkansas Children’s Hospital, UAMS, Jefferson Regional and Baptist System, to name a few,” said Alan Gibson, Communications Manager for the Red Cross. “It is important to note for a college population that they come from all over and the Red Cross may likely provide the blood and platelets used in their home communities or the areas they travel to and from school.”

    The Red Cross closely monitors current supplies for impact of H1N1 flu and general increases in illness, which could impact donor response. They look to caring people to donate and one requirement is that they are in good health at the time they present to donate. Blood has no substitute.

   For more information on flu preparedness and precautions, please visit www.redcross.org  or www.bloodisneeded.org.  Both sites provide excellent information about donating blood and precautions. Also at Redcross.org, people can get the latest information regarding humanitarian responses nationally and around the world including the tsunami experienced by American Samoa. They encourage people to consider visiting them on Twitter at RedCross,  to friend them on Facebook at American Red Cross Blood Donors or check them out on Flicker or YouTube and search for Red Cross.

   The American Red Cross Web site also offers tips for donors, explains the donation process, tells other way a someone can help, the top ten reason to donate and excuses why people do not donate and other topics like finding donation sites.

    To learn more about classes, training or volunteer opportunities contact Donna Booth-Johnson at donna_johnson@pbreynoldscenter.org, at the address American Red Cross 211 West Third, Suite 250, Pine Bluff 71601 or by phone at 870 534-7312. This chapter responds to local disasters in your area and there is a local disaster team and area for disaster, military assistance, community health education and other non-blood related activities.

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