The Pointer UW-Stevens Point Student Newspaper
Sarah McQueen smcqu643@uwsp.edu
The Blood Center of Wisconsin is currently short on supply, having only enough blood in its inventory to last for one day.
The Student Involvement and Employment Office is sponsoring a blood drive on Sept. 23 and 24 to help with the lack of blood. They usually collect 70-85 units of blood, but they hope to exceed this amount by at least 20 units at the blood drive.
The blood drive will be held in the Melvin Laird Room of the Dreyfus University Center from 10 a.m until 3 p.m. Donors should be in good health, at least 110 lbs, have photo I.D., and eat a nutritious meal beforehand.
“I can’t stress that enough,” said Vicki Bohman, a representative for the Blood Center of Wisconsin. “Donors not eating a nutritious meal before hand is the number one problem we have.”
Most of the blood drawn at the blood drive will go to Saint Michael’s Hospital, after being tested for diseases such as syphilis and HIV. The blood is used for things like trauma victims, cancer patients and? burn victims.
“Most of the students who donate ?are afraid of needles but they usually say the little girl who has cancer is even more afraid of needles,” said Katie Morici, blood drive coordinator.
The number of donations has declined since Labor Day weekend from about 800 donors a day to 500 or 600. With the significant decline in supply the blood center is asking for extra donors.
Donors can either make an appointment or just walk in. 70 percent of donors are walk ins but making an appointment allows the donor to get in and out faster.
Donors should expect the whole process to take about an hour. Donors must first register, show I.D., take a brief survey, perform the donation, then head to recovery. The donation process alone only takes seven to ten minutes. After the donation, donors are sent to the canteen for a few moments to make sure they do not have any reactions.
Drawn blood expires after about 41 days, but none of the blood remains in stock that long due to demand.
“The blood is going out the doors as fast as I can get it in,” Bohman said.
