The Annual blood drive at the MSC on Tuesday hosted by the Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center.
Who is afraid of big, bad needles?
If Mississippi Valley Blood Drive turnouts at the University of Missouri-St. Louis are to be believed, many people, whether fearful or not, are more than willing to lend an arm and a pint in order to save lives.
The Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center visits UM-St. Louis roughly three to four times a year in order to operate blood drives. Participants range from students to faculty, and even some individuals lacking any relationship to the campus will walk in from the surrounding community in order to do their part.
This month’s drive started out rather slow.
“There weren’t too many people there when I showed up. I figured more people would be in line to donate blood,” Jonas Kersulis, sophomore, electrical engineering, said.
Despite this low initial turnout, the staff from Mississippi Valley remained confident and faithful throughout the drive.
“We pulled in roughly 68 or 69 units of blood last time, and we expect that, given UMSL’s history, we’ll do at least that well today, as well,” Andrea Cole, Donor Resource Manager, Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center, said.
For those unfamiliar with the process, the donation of approximately a pint of blood can save up to three lives, according to Cole.
“We separate the platelets, plasma and actual cells into separate components in order to allow the best distribution to patients. This allows for a single donation to be extremely useful for multiple situations,” Cole said.
Given that standard, UM-St. Louis drives regularly allow roughly 210 lives to be saved.
Veterans to the practice know the expectations of anybody wanting to give blood such as no recent tattoos or piercings, recent illness, certain diseases and low iron levels, which can all prevent an individual from qualifying to donate.
However, for those hoping to give blood, it is important to remember that, in addition to passing the previous criteria, there is one key piece of advice any donor will cite; eat well the day of a donation.
“This was my first time donating blood, actually. It was very well-run. I’m impressed with how the entire operation is down to a science. I would definitely give blood again. I hadn’t eaten anything beforehand, and I almost passed out due to that. So, I would advise that people eat beforehand,” Kersulis said.
Kersulis is not the only person in history to experience such faintness following a donation, either.
“Some potential donors are scared away by the concept of fainting or feeling ill after donating. In all honesty, it’s completely natural to feel weak after giving blood. However, eating a healthy breakfast the day of a donation can greatly help reduce this risk,” Cole said.
Interestingly enough, several students seemed to have never heard of Mississippi Valley. With the American Red Cross hovering overhead, this comes as little surprise. However, Cole supplied interesting data regarding neighboring hospitals’ relations to blood donor agencies.
“We are the sole provider of blood and blood products to St. Louis area SSM hospitals, including Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital. We also provided a great deal of assistance following events such as Hurricane Katrina and the recent earthquake in Haiti,” Cole said.
Miss the chance to donate last week? Mississippi Valley will be back again in October, so keep watch around campus. One donation means three lives saved!