Waltham Group blood drive Oct. 4 to 6 at Sherman Hall

Donate blood, save lives

Every two seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood, so every blood drive is important, says Jessica Friedman ’13, a biochemistry major and member of the Waltham Group. They will hold their annual blood drive Oct. 4 to 6 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Sherman function hall. Sign up to donate on Oct. 3 at Usdan from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and at Sherman from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Sign up online and use sponsor code 965.

“Over the three days we hope to have a total of 70 volunteers helping out between classes,” says Friedman. “We will also have a full team of American Red Cross staff.”

The average blood drive collects 225 pints over three days. This year, Friedman says, they’re hoping extend beyond that.

“The need for donations is real,” says Friedman. “Over this past year the American Red Cross blood supply was disrupted due to inclement weather, which caused a number of blood drives nationwide to be shortened or canceled.”

Last February a snowstorm on campus closed down a scheduled blood drive for an entire day. Fortunately, Friedman says, they had a large turnout the next day with donors patiently waiting until 8 p.m., which collected just under 100 pints.

“We are given the opportunity to save lives simply by giving some of our time and blood,” says Friedman. “We need only six of the eight to 10 pints of blood in our body, and also have the ability to regenerate red blood cells, platelets and plasma. So why wouldn't you donate one pint of your blood when you can save up to three lives?”

On average, the actual donation process takes between 10 and 12 minutes.

Friedman says that 38 percent of the population in the United States is eligible to give blood but only a staggering 5 percent actually donate.

“Our goal is to encourage our peers to be a part of the movement to make America’s eligible donors fulfill their potential. Being a blood donor is proof that ordinary people can do extraordinary things,” Friedman says.

If you are not interested in donating but still want to help out email Friedman. For more information check out the Facebook event.

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