Blood Donation Record High at Ripon College

Ripon College students Jake Grant and Jake Gahart
volunteer their time at the Community Blood Center
Blood Drive sponsored by the Office of Community
Engagement last week in Great Hall. 

Ripon boasted a record attendance at the Community Blood Center Blood Drive sponsored by the Office of Community Engagement on campus last week! Props to students, staff and faculty for donating 64 good units of blood (Campus drives usually are able to collect something more in the range of 23-37 good units). Of the 74 donors to sign in to the blood drive, 44 of them were new blood donors.
  
Did you know...
1) All blood donors are volunteers? In the United States it is the law that all blood collected for transfusion must be from volunteer donors.
2) Even though research is continually being done to identify new alternatives to blood transfusion, there are currently no substitutes for blood. 
3) A single blood donation may help up to three people?
4) A patient could be forced to pass up a lifesaving organ if compatible blood is not available to support the transplant. YOU have the potential to make sure this doesn't happen to at least one person by donating blood.
5) About 1 in 7 people entering the hospital need blood. That's a lot! Chances are someone you know and love will be one of those 1 in 7 people in the future.

Emelia Erickson spent most of her day volunteering her
time to make sure that donors were well hydrated and
provided with plenty of snacks to keep their blood sugar
levels up. Volunteers like Emelia make blood drives possible. 

Who does my donation help? 
a)  Red blood cells may be given to patients with severe anemia, trauma victims, or those undergoing surgery.
               
b)  Plasma transfusions may be used to help patients with bleeding or clotting disorders,  burn or trauma victims, people with immune deficiencies, or people undergoing bone marrow or organ transplants.
               
c)  Platelets may be used to help cancer patients or accident victims

If you are interested in finding out more about the blood donation process or donating blood, check out these online resources: Red Cross or Community Blood Center or contact the Office of Community Engagement to sign up for an appointment to donate blood at the spring blood drives held at Ripon College on Tuesday, February 21 (Red Cross) and Tuesday, April 17 (Community Blood Center) in Great Hall.