On Friday, Feb. 20, Washburn’s psychology club partnered with the Red Cross to host a blood drive. It started at 10 a.m. and lasted till 3 p.m. in the Memorial Union.
“With the psychology club, we have an emphasis on our community, so… we wanted to do a community service event so we’re working with the blood drive,” said Carter Johnson, president of the psychology club.
Kiki Brooks, community liaison, gave additional insight into the process of setting up an event like this.
“We had to communicate with the Red Cross in order to coordinate our appointments. We also tabled so we can try to get appointments that way,” Brooks said. “When it comes to the blood drive, they guide the way for the donors. “We direct them to where they need to go. We set up signs, we answer any questions, we check the appointments in.”
Ayikeara Dotson, freshman nursing major, gave the reason why she is donating blood.
“I’m donating blood because I just want to give back and plus it’s Lent. So why not?” Dotson said. “I am terrified because it’s just a good thing to do, and plus, I’m gonna be a nurse someday. So you never know.”
Naomi Whalen, a nurse from the Red Cross, explained why donating is important.
“I’ve been here six years, and I really enjoy the positive impact that we have on the community,” Whalen said. “Since I’ve been doing it so long, I have lots of donors that I see regularly, once every two months, and it’s really fun to catch up with them. But even first time donors, it’s really fun because you get a lot of people that are coming in, they’re nervous or they’re excited, but seeing them walk out usually with a smile on their face, is like, that’s really gratifying.”
There’s different types of donating blood which Johnston explained.
“So there is donating just regular blood, which is just what you would think it is…and then there’s donating Power Red, which includes taking your blood cells and then inserting your white blood cells back into the body,” Johnston said. “And so that can actually save up to three individuals versus the one with blood…They use it a lot with infants as well.”
Whalen gave more information on how donation Power Red blood donation works.
“We say, it saves up to three lives. So we separate the blood between the red blood cells, the plasma and the platelets, and each one of those products will be used for a different purpose,” Whalen said. “So red blood cells like trauma blood loss for people that need that blood, and then plasma is really important for burn victims, because they lose lots of blood plasma, that’s like the liquid part of your blood, and then platelets are super important for patients going under like chemotherapy or just other cancer treatments.”
While serving a noble cause, some people still may have their reservations.
“It definitely doesn’t really hurt that bad. I know needles are scary, and there’s its own kind of like, psychological thing to it, and it also does not take much time at all,” Whalen said. “Most of the donors that have donated today have finished their donations in like, five to six minutes. And so it actually, you’re done, you walk out.”
Donors also received a $20 e-Gift card to a merchant of their choice.
Edited by Anushma Dahal and Stuti Khadka
