The Washburn Lady Blues soccer team drew first blood many times on the field in the fall, but now they have given that phrase a different meaning.

At the Emergency Blood Drive Thursday, Feb. 6, the Lady Blues teamed up with the Biology Club to help draw blood for the Community Blood Center. Seventy-six people registered to donate and 12 were deferred for low iron content, only 16 percent.

“It’s unusual to have that low of a deferral rate,” said Kathy Belanger, Community Blood Center recruiter. “Usually it’s a quarter to a third of the donors. It was quite a surprise for us. There’s a lot of healthy people at Washburn.”

Those healthy people were able to donate 66 pints of blood. Of the 64 who donated, 48 were first-time donors.

“Overall, I think it went really well,” said Grady Woodruff, assistant Lady Blues soccer coach. “When they contacted us about having one, they said they had roughly 10 units of blood, which isn’t that much. So we thought it was necessary for us to have this emergency drive and even if we had got just one person to donate, it would’ve been worth it.”

Belanger agreed this was a very vital drive and the 66 pints of blood taken is enough to help 132 people.

Jennifer Allen, sophomore business and Spanish major, donated blood and said she does so whenever she can.

“I think it’s a really good thing. One person giving can save two lives,” said Allen. “A lot of people think it hurts, but it’s worth it because it saves lives.”

The blood drive also gave the Lady Blues another opportunity to work together.

“I want to give a big thanks to the Lady Blues soccer team,” said Belanger. “It was their first sponsored drive. They really got the ball rolling and did a terrific job. We also want to thank the Biology Club for co-sponsoring the drive.”