U. holds blood drive

Each day 40,000 pints of blood are needed to save the lives of patients across the United States, including about 1,200 for the Delaware Valley area alone. Yesterday, Penn students lined up in the lobby of the Nursing Education Building to do their part in meeting this great demand. With the help of the Penn Medical School, the American Red Cross organized a blood drive aimed at collecting 60 pints of blood from students, staff, faculty and community members to help the cause. "We set up a goal with the Red Cross to get 60 donors here, which is about 5 percent of the amount collected in a day," said Jen Wu, a first-year Medical student in charge of publicity and coordination for the drive. Diane Hughes, the main phlebotomist -- the medical professional who actually takes the blood -- at the site, stated that the turnout at college sites is "always just great." As a paid employee of the Red Cross, Hughes has overseen several blood drives at Penn in her 19 years of work. Wu remembers the last drive at Penn, which took place in October. "I forgot to eat before I donated and so I got sick that time," Wu said, adding that the bad experience did not deter her from continuing to donate blood. She believes that with such a large population of "mostly young and mostly healthy" students, the amount of donors should be high. In addition to putting up flyers, Wu sent out e-mails to medical students' listserves and to other community service organizations on campus. Debbie Knobelman, a fourth-year Medical student, said it was the notification on her computer that brought her to the blood drive. Because it was her first time, Knobelman confessed to having jitters, but they were outweighed by her feeling that "giving is the right thing to do." Engineering School Barrett Lawson agreed, saying "donating blood is simply being socially responsible." Some types of blood are in higher demand than others. People with type O-negative are considered universal donors, meaning their blood can be accepted into any person's bloodstream. But O-negative people can also only accept that specific type of blood. First-year Medical Student Lisa Blair is O-negative and said she felt that her blood type made it her duty to contribute. "I figure if I ever want blood, I better give some," she said. "A pint of my blood is highly valuable." The average person has between 10 and 12 pints of blood in his body. Completely replacing the donated pint takes little more than a few days. In order for a person to donate blood, he or she must be at least 17 years old and weigh over 110 pounds. Although the average healthy adult can donate blood every 56 days, most do not donate at all, Wu said. "With a campus this size, we could produce a whole lot of blood," Wu added. "It's just a matter of getting people here."