Reba Beaudry-

The Gustavus Fall Blood Drive is happening next week on Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 7th and 8th. Both days will be located in Alumni Hall from 12:30 p.m. to 6:30 pm. For the past 16 years, the blood drive has been hosted here in Alumni – not only because it is a central location for both students and the St. Peter community members, but also because it’s an open space that allows for multiple donations at a time.

The blood drive at Gustavus has been going on for at least 16 years, generally twice a year (fall and spring). It is run and organized by the Gustavus Student Nurses Association (GSNA) in coordination with the American Red Cross. GSNA Juniors and Seniors meet every week to figure out ways to promote the event. The group strives for community engagement, so they hang posters around campus and in parts of St. Peter.

At the last blood drive, only 85 members of the Gustavus and/or St. Peter community participated in the combined days of the blood drive. GSNA’s goal this year is to get “at least 90 donors,” Co-President and Junior Mayssa Tweet said. They hope that with more advertising, more people who are able to donate will show up. It takes less than an hour and participants get to discover their blood type.

“Of those who are eligible to give blood, less than ten percent donate” the Director of Health Services, Heather Dale, said. This statement shows that many more people could be donating blood than the amount that showed last year. However, there are some reasons why people can’t, such as having low hemoglobin. This could mean that someone has low iron levels, which is the most common reason why college students can’t donate.

If you are planning to give blood, the Red Cross does check to see if you are eligible. In case it comes back that someone has low hemoglobin, the Health Services team is there to help. They will walk you through the next steps, whether it be getting a blood panel done or going to see the dietitian on campus to help implement iron into one’s diet.

You might be wondering why one should donate blood; there are many reasons. Right now there is an urgent need for blood donations in the United States, especially down South with the victims of Hurricane Helene. “Someone needs blood every two seconds,” Dale said about the Red Cross website.

Donating blood “… is a great way for college students to give back to the community,” Dale said, considering the fact that many of us may not be able to afford to give back in other ways. Donating one’s time, or in this case, blood, is one way to help your local and greater community. This action can be considered “life-saving,” Tweet commented.

Another reason to donate is the fact that you are helping people of all ages. Your donation might not go to someone the same age as you, since donations are based on blood type. It can help those from “age 0 to 100,” Dale noted.

Something to remember is that it’s “really important to obtain a large supply of blood,” Tweet said, as the more donations there are, the more people that can be helped. For every pint of blood, “up to three lives…” are saved, Hale noted. This goes to show the great need for blood donations.

So where do these donations go? That’s a big question. They generally go to the local community where the blood drive is happening. Then, once the need is filled locally, the blood gets sent to other places in need, like the aforementioned South with their Hurricane Helene disaster.

Blood donation is even more prevalent as the scheduled blood drives down South have been postponed for the time being. There is an extreme increase in need but a decrease in collection right now, especially for those affected by natural disasters. The Gustavus community can do their part to help others by donating, maybe even directly helping those affected by Helene.

So, there are many reasons to donate your blood to help others, besides the fact that by doing acts of service one tends to feel better about themselves. By reading this article and becoming more aware of the importance of giving blood, the GSNA hopes that more people will consider donating at this drive come Oct. 7th and 8th in Alumni Hall.