Waldorf Blood Drive produces much needed donations

Caludio da Cruz takes a quick selfie while giving blood. Photo by Chasen Selsor

By Chasen Selsor

On Feb. 10, lives were saved! Waldorf College held their Spring Blood Drive. They have one every fall and spring semester.

Nurse Mary Mathiasen said the blood drive was indeed successful because over 50 people showed up to donate blood for a good cause. A total of 52 people atteneded and only nine of them were deferred.

The main goal was to have 54 units of blood donated and a total of 38 units of blood were received. Even though the end result did not reach the intended goal, over 50 people still donated and each donation can save up to three lives, therefore, over 150 lives could possibly be saved due to these donations.

According to the Red Cross website, a single car accident victim can require as many as 100 pints of blood. Correspondingly every 2 seconds someone in the United States needs blood. According to Nurse Mary, Red Cross has been in need of more blood due to all the storms that have been going on.

Senior football player, Stephon McClendon commented on his experience.

“I thought the experience was great!” McClendon said. “The feeling of saving three lives by just taking a little time out of my day was phenomenal! The snacks were pretty great too.”

Donating blood is a safe process. A sterile needle is used only once for each donor and then discarded. After the donations, all of the blood is tested for diseases such as HIV, hepatitis B and C, syphilis and other infectious diseases. Amazingly, the Red Cross is 40 percent of the nation’s blood supply.

Congratulations to all the people who donated their blood to save lives and thank you for taking the time out of your schedule to do so.