This month the Ross Medical Education Center campus in Ontario once again hosted a blood drive with the American Red Cross. In the weeks leading up to the drive, they scheduled over 30 people and on the day of the drive they had several more people drop by to donate! Their regional Red Cross is responsible for supplying blood to all of the area hospitals, so there is always a great need in their area. They were thankful for the opportunity to help out.
Fortunately the American Red Cross Regional Coordinator, Emily Allen, was available to come speak to the staff, faculty, and students at the campus about the importance of making regular donations and how much they can help. She visited a week before the big day and answered all their questions about blood donation. Through visual presentations, Emily walked the students through the donation process, dispelled some worries that first time donors may have, and encouraged the students to help out during the drive the following week.
Thanks to the help from Emily and the American Red Cross, the campus was able to schedule all of the appointments allotted to them and then some! Many students were first time donors, but they also had several repeat donors and some members of the community from outside the Ross family that wanted to donate. The campus’ goal was 25 units. Although they came just under their goal with the 19 units collected, they were encouraged to discover that each unit of blood they collected has the potential to help up to three people! That means that up to 57 lives could be saved from the campus’ generosity!
The campus has already scheduled another drive in December to help out between the holidays as that is a critical donation time. Many regular donors become very busy around the holidays, as they are more involved with family and friends, and forget to donate. The campus cannot wait to have another shot at achieving their goal in December!
If you are interested in donating blood, visit the American Red Cross website at http://www.redcross.org/blood for information about blood donation and to find a drive location near you!