Author: Sant Kumar
City of Hope and the Residence Life staff held Occidental’s annual blood drive last Wednesday and Thursday in Newcomb Hall. The drive received donations from students of all class years and was regarded as a success by those who participated.
City of Hope was ranked in the 2009 U.S. News & World Report as one of “America’s best hospitals,” for both urology and cancer treatment, and its hospital in Los Angeles is ranked the second-highest in the city.
According to the organization’s Web site, City of Hope has active partnerships with numerous service organizations, including the Lions Club International, Rotary Club and Veterans of Foreign Wars, as well as trade and agriculture industry groups. The blood drawn at Oxy’s drive will be processed in the City of Hope Michael Amini Transfusion Medicine Center and will eventually go to patients fighting serious illnesses.
City of Hope was not available for comment by press time.Students who gave blood seemed happy for the chance to save lives. Matthew Nixon (sophomore), a blood donor, said, “When you give at a blood drive, you know you’re making a direct impact. With other charities, you’re not always sure if you’re really helping anything.”
Zachary Windheim (sophomore) said he was surprised by how efficient everything was. “I gave blood back home, and it took a lot longer.” He added, “I think we need to have more things like this on campus where you devote a little time and make an impact on someone’s life.”
For most students, the process of giving blood takes 10-15 minutes and is followed by a mandatory 15 minutes of resting, hydrating and eating the provided snacks.
Donated blood from such blood drives is used for life-saving blood transfusions in the United States and Canada. According to the 2005 Nationwide Blood Collection and Utilization Survey Report, conducted by the Department of Health & Human Services, “More than 4.5 million patients need blood transfusions each year in the U.S. and Canada.” Hospitals are often in search for blood donors and “blood drives hosted by companies, schools, places of worship and civic organizations supply roughly half of all blood donations across the U.S,” according to the survey.
The average donation, one pint of blood, can save up to three lives, according to the America’s Blood Center’s Web site. Additionally, although still not scientific dogma, numerous studies have found a correlation between blood donation in males and a decreased risk of numerous types of life-threatening heart disease.
Max Levine (sophomore) had nothing but praise for the nurses running the event and the experience. “I’d definitely do it again,” he said.
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