Red Cross Hosts Blood Drive at SU
By Max Williams
In a time where blood is desperately needed, the American Red Cross is looking to volunteers to fill that need. A majority of those volunteers come from college students around the country. Syracuse University is one of those schools that has taken the initiative to save lives by offering students the chance to donate blood every two months.
Syracuse student Jacquelline Hawkins, a sophomore at the university who was at the donation, says donating is special to her,
“I have the universal donor blood type so like, I’m O negative so I can give blood to literally everyone so I think it’s important to like do what you can, so if you can donate, you should,” she said.
Students like Jacquelline are who Katherine Stepanian, a Senior Account Manager for Red Cross Blood Services, are thankful for and say keep the organization afloat,
“About 13,000 units of blood are transfused every day that need to come from a volunteer blood donor, so that is why we ask the community and students to roll up their sleeves,” she said.
The American Red Cross is grateful for the partnership they have with the university, as students allow the organization to put blood on hospital shelves,
“Su is a wonderful partner to help us, you know, make that happen. It increases our chances of collecting the blood that we need that day,” Stepanian said.
Stepanian explains that being on a college campus allows them to be reachable to a large community, increasing the chances of donors and the amount of blood they receive. Stepanian leaves a message for those that may be hesitant to donate,
“To be a little bit outside of your comfort zone for, you know, a very short amount of time to give three people a life; to me, it’s a no-brainer,” she said.
Stepanian emphasizes how special it is when patients are allowed to go home to their loved ones all possible because of donors looking out for the well-being of others.
If you are interested in donating, you can go to redcrossblood.org to find blood drives in your area.
