Isabel Brauhn
The University of Missouri’s annual Homecoming blood drive is the largest Red Cross collegiate blood drive in the nation. Each drive’s goal is to surpass the year prior, and since 2021, the drive has surpassed its record. According to senior Ella Rose Ferguson, a member of the Blood Drive Committee, the record to beat this year was 4,959 units of blood.
“If we could break it, that means we would save up to 15,000 potential lives, which is just a crazy number,” Ferguson said.
From Sept. 15-18, MizzouRec hosted hundreds of students donating blood, as well as student volunteers. Mizzou’s Homecoming traditions center around more than parade floats and decorations – they also focus on students’ ability to give back to their community.
“Most of our volunteers and donations are students,” Ferguson said. “It’s just a really cool impact that we get to have on the community here [in] Missouri, but also the U.S.”
This year, the drive doubled 2021’s amount, collecting 5,070 units of blood, filling a nationwide need for blood. According to the American Red Cross, someone in the U.S. needs blood every two seconds.
For Ferguson, realizing the potential effects of the blood drive was the most rewarding part of working on the committee.
“It was just so sweet and so moving after we got everything set up, just looking out on all the beds and everything,” Ferguson said. ”I think it was just crazy to picture, just over the course of four days, how many lives we get to save.”
Edited by Erin Hynes | [email protected]
Copy edited by Maren Hettler and Avery Copeland | [email protected]
Edited by Alex Gribb | [email protected]