Each day, about 80 hospitals covered under the Missouri-Illinois region of the American Red Cross demand about 800 units of blood for their patients.
Greek Week’s blood drive each April aids the American Red Cross in meeting its demand for blood, adhering to the week’s theme of community service.
“We work with the Red Cross because it’s so important to us to give back, and they need blood products, so we use this as a time to give back to the community,” blood drive committee member Sarah Tillou said. “The blood drive that we work with only goes to mid-Missouri regions, so it’s kind of working locally, since all of our beneficiaries are local as well.”
This year’s blood drive, held Tuesday through Thursday, fell short of its goal of 1,900 units. It collected 1,554 units, not including units from satellite drives, Tillou said.
American Red Cross regional spokesman Dan Fox said he appreciates the support from MU blood drives.
“Every year, both the Homecoming and Greek Week drives produce staggering numbers, and it’s fantastic, the support that we get from the students as well as the entire Columbia community,” Tillou said.
This year’s Greek Week blood drive is especially important because of the high pollen counts and severe allergies this season. Allergies alone cannot prevent a donor from giving blood, but colds, respiratory infections and medications taken to relieve symptoms can, resulting in fewer donations and lower supplies, Fox said.
“In March, the American Red Cross was down 8 percent (in blood donations) in comparison of last March, so they’re behind with their blood donations, and we’d like to get them up and going,” Tillou said.
Steering committee members began collaborating with American Red Cross representatives in November. Both parties worked to determine the drive’s goal, which is determined by factors like the number of units collected in past drives, the size of the building and the time of the year.
This year’s blood drive theme, “Give Life, Donate Blood,” stems from the idea that giving blood gives someone a chance to live, Tillou said.
“At our motivational speaker night last week, we had a student at MU talk about how (many) blood products she goes through with the diseases she has,” she said. “Essentially, she said without us, she couldn’t live, and so that’s how it correlates, and we thought it was fitting and a catchy slogan.”
Technology played a larger role in the organization of this year’s blood drive than in previous years, Fox said. A new online scheduling system released four to five weeks ago and electronic check-in stations have helped the drive run more efficiently.
“We hope to get the donors in and out as quickly as possible,” Fox said.
Pairings also held blood booths at Speakers Circle, Lowry Mall, Plaza 900 and the Student Center to ask for donations and distributed postcards to other campus organizations to encourage the participation of students who are not involved with Greek Life organizations, blood drive spokeswoman Kara Perconti said.
“Most chapter members are very involved (on campus), so we were hoping we could branch out to the diverse interests of the chapters and reach non-Greek houses and people of the Mizzou community, and as far as Columbia, too – just people that are interested,” Perconti said.
People should donate blood because it is crucial for helping save lives of patients from both natural and personal disasters, Fox said.
“We hear about natural disasters like tornadoes and hurricanes and those things, and thank goodness those don’t happen every single day, but personal disasters like car accidents or cancer diagnoses, those things do happen every day, and they happen everywhere,” Fox said. “(Giving blood) could literally mean the difference between life and death.”
