Student senate blood drive welcoming donations today

Students will have the opportunity to donate blood in the gymnasium on Friday, May 12. When it comes to donating blood, people often let their nerves get in the way. Nobody likes needles or enjoys being pricked in the finger, but counselor Erin Gardner said she wants to remind everyone why it’s important. Donated goes directly to local hospitals. The blood donated is aiding Cedar Falls and Waterloo residents.

Gardner wants to remind students that donated blood is, and always will be, in high demand. “Up to 90 percent of people will need blood at some point in their lives … yet, fewer than 5 percent of eligible donors donate on a regular basis. Each week blood donations are needed for cancer patients, burn victims, automobile accidents, premature infants, heart surgeries and organ transplants, as well as many other reasons.”

With such high demand yet low supply, researchers have investigated what is keeping people from donating. The result is just another reason students especially need to consider donating. Gardner said, “They have learned that the younger you are when you begin to donate, the more likely you are to continue to donate. There is no substitution for a blood donation, so each and every time you give your make a huge difference. You can can make more of a difference in the hour you donate than most people do in their lifetime.”

If the incentive of helping others isn’t enough, there are benefits for the donor as well. By donating blood, you reduce the amount of iron in your body. This is especially beneficial for someone with a high iron diet. The human body can only absorb a certain amount of iron, so the excess is stored in the heart and liver. This can increase chance of heart abnormalities and liver failure.

Gardner recently posted a link on Schoology for people to sign up to donate. The community hopes to see as many possible students show up.

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.