ASU students set blood collection record
by Anna Oakes
About five hundred Appalachian State University students volunteered Wednesday to help the sixth annual Homecoming Blood Drive set a new record: 1,315 units.
“This is just a really huge deal for the Red Cross and for the Carolinas region,” said Kara Dudley, communications program manager for the American Red Cross Carolinas Blood Services Region. The region serves North and South Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia.
“It continues to be our largest drive,” Dudley said.
“They just continue to overwhelm us and delight us with how well they do each year.”
Last year’s blood drive record of 1,261 units held the single-day collection record in North Carolina and ranked among the Top 10 in the country.
“We just don’t get that kind of involvement really from any of the other universities,” she said. “We don’t see this kind of participation like we do at ASU.”
Dudley praised the efforts of ASU students and Kate Johnson, associate director of the Department of Student Programs, who has coordinated the blood drive for several years.
“I’m just really amazed at how not only she basically leads this effort but she coordinates hundreds of students,” Dudley said.
The Red Cross was able to perform 188 double red cell procedures, which allows the collection of twice as many red blood cells as a typical unit.
“That resulted in close to 370 units of our most needed blood types,” she said, which include O-, O+, A- and B-.
The Carolinas Blood Services Region provides life-saving blood to 103 hospitals and must have 1,600 people give blood and platelets each weekday to meet hospital demand. Accident victims, as well as patients with cancer, sickle cell disease, blood disorders and other illnesses, receive lifesaving transfusions every day. There is no substitute for blood, and volunteer donors are the only source.
For more information, visit http://www.redcross.org.
“This is just a really huge deal for the Red Cross and for the Carolinas region,” said Kara Dudley, communications program manager for the American Red Cross Carolinas Blood Services Region. The region serves North and South Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia.
“It continues to be our largest drive,” Dudley said.
“They just continue to overwhelm us and delight us with how well they do each year.”
Last year’s blood drive record of 1,261 units held the single-day collection record in North Carolina and ranked among the Top 10 in the country.
“We just don’t get that kind of involvement really from any of the other universities,” she said. “We don’t see this kind of participation like we do at ASU.”
Dudley praised the efforts of ASU students and Kate Johnson, associate director of the Department of Student Programs, who has coordinated the blood drive for several years.
“I’m just really amazed at how not only she basically leads this effort but she coordinates hundreds of students,” Dudley said.
The Red Cross was able to perform 188 double red cell procedures, which allows the collection of twice as many red blood cells as a typical unit.
“That resulted in close to 370 units of our most needed blood types,” she said, which include O-, O+, A- and B-.
The Carolinas Blood Services Region provides life-saving blood to 103 hospitals and must have 1,600 people give blood and platelets each weekday to meet hospital demand. Accident victims, as well as patients with cancer, sickle cell disease, blood disorders and other illnesses, receive lifesaving transfusions every day. There is no substitute for blood, and volunteer donors are the only source.
For more information, visit http://www.redcross.org.