Last week’s American Red Cross blood drive was a success. While it didn’t break any records, lots of lives were saved, and the ETSU community showed up at their best.

“It went very well, I was very pleased with the student participation,” said Gwen Hunter, donor recruitment representative for the Johnson City area. In addition to the volunteers – students and faculty alike – who rolled up their sleeves to donate a pint, were student organizations who volunteered at the blood drive itself.

“We were strongly supported by Presbyterian Campus Ministry and by Alpha Xi Delta Sorority,” Hunter said.

Among the donors for the two-day drive was student Noah Wall, who works with The Edge campus radio station.

“I get kinda nervous, but I know [blood is] something that they need, and if I was ever in a situation where I was needful I would hope that they would have it to give,” she said.

This is the perfect outlook, especially since only 38 percent of the entire population is even eligible to donate, and of that 38 percent only 8 percent actually donate.

This works out to a very small fraction of people donating for a very large need.

One of the top reasons people have for not giving blood is that they are afraid of needles.

While that’s a legitimate fear, Wall says, “It’s fast and it’s relatively painless. And once you do it, you know that you can handle it. No matter if you’re afraid it’s worth doing.”

Along with students and community members who donated, faculty also showed their support. Dr. Ricky Mohon, who teaches at the medical school, gave up some time to help save a life. “It’s important to do,” he said. “Being a physician I have to use blood products to take care of my patients, so I know the importance of it.”

Perhaps the best reason to donate blood, however, is to save someone you care about.

Hunter spoke of a first-time donor she met and the story he gave her. “I met Mike … who told me he’d never really considered donating before. But recently he started dating a woman who receives platelets for treatment for a blood disease, and it just really occurred to him how much that was needed. Without those platelets she receives from blood donors, she wouldn’t be alive.”

If you missed last week’s blood drive, there will be another opportunity to donate on campus April 12-13 in the Culp Center Ballroom.

If you or your organization would like to help out, contact Gwen Hunter at (423) 202-5619 or at send an e-mail to HunterGR@usa.redcross.org.

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