/UM blood drive a positive experience

UM blood drive a positive experience

Students give back by having their blood taken and donated to help save lives for the American Red Cross. Photo by Dylan Dagnan for The Alabamian.

The second floor of Farmer Hall was consistently crowded on Tuesday September 15 and Wednesday September 16 as UM students gathered to donate blood to the American Red Cross.

Donna McClure, the Red Cross representative for UM, stated that the blood drive was hugely successful in that 69 pints of blood were collected. She disclosed that the blood donated is enough blood product for a possible 207 people to benefit from the donations.

Over a hundred UM students gathered to give blood, flooring the expectations of the organizers. Many donors said their motives ranged from a sense of social responsibility to personal experience.

Junior accounting major Katherine Nally stated, “I donate because about seven years ago, I needed a blood transfusion and I like to give back.”

The blood donated at the drive truly does give back to our local community, as most of the blood product collected is utilized at University of Alabama-Birmingham’s Department of Surgery and at Children’s Hospital in Birmingham.

The University of Montevallo has been hosting blood drives since 2009, and in that time our campus alone has collected 1,242 pints of blood – enough blood product for 3726, according to McClure.

Students who wish to participate in the next blood drive should plan to attend when the American Red Cross returns to our campus on November 11 and 12 for a Blood Drive Block Party.

For more information or to schedule an appointment, visit www.redcrossblood.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS or download the Red Cross Blood Donor App. Walk-ins are welcome.

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