Students roll up sleeves for blood drive

Yesterday, amidst midterms and spring break plans, several members of the Penn community took time out of their busy schedules to donate blood. And, especially now, one prick goes a long way -- the drive was crucial to replenishing the Penn-Jersey blood supply, which is just recovering from the "brink of a critical emergency," Mary Doolittle, college account manager for the Penn-Jersey Region of the American Red Cross explained. The shortage resulted from the recent snowstorms that temporarily closed donation sites and postponed some blood drives. Also, the Penn-Jersey region shipped blood to needy areas that were undergoing a month-long blood quarantine after mysterious white particles appeared in the supply. The shortage has hit the area hard, causing local hospitals to postpone operations. Unlike the Red Cross policy of maintaining a "seven-day supply of all blood types," Doolittle said, most hospitals only had a "half-day supply" on their shelves recently. According to Doolittle, the threat of shortages is heightened by the fact that only "5 percent of the eligible population actually donates." But this difficult problem has a surprisingly easy solution -- "If they gave twice a year," Doolittle said, the blood supply would be both stable and plentiful. Additionally, event coordinator and Nursing freshman Alidane Punzalan remarked that "every day we need blood," and she stressed the importance of giving blood regularly. On Penn's campus, however, where many students have studied abroad or traveled extensively, Punzalan noted that it is difficult to find eligible donors. For example, anyone that has spent more than three months in the United Kingdom or up to six months in Eastern or Western Europe since 1980 is ineligible to donate. Undeterred, Punzalan shared her strategies for attracting those eligible to donate. She noted that the "most important thing for blood drives is to ask people in person." Also aware of the challenges that blood drives present, College senior Danie Greenwell, last semester's coordinator, helped put together the Penn American Red Cross Team to "support and help blood drives on this campus [to] do better." Greenwell recognized this void because "everyone kept telling me that they didn't hear about the drives until the last minute." Now, the new group's Web site not only lists upcoming blood drives, but it also gives students the opportunity to sign up online in advance. However, despite its listing on the Web site, many students still only heard about the blood drive on Locust Walk. "I saw it on the Walk, and I was like, yeah, okay, it doesn't take too much time," Engineering sophomore Mike Smeets said. "Anyway, it's convenient, and I'm right here," added Nursing sophomore Alison Escherich, who has donated "probably ten" times before. College freshman Rita Carlin -- a second-timer -- said she was "not really looking forward to the physical sensation of giving blood" but was just happy to be helping someone. The blood drive was sponsored by the Kite and Key Society and took place in Houston Hall's Bodek Lounge.

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