“That one hour you take to donate blood might be painful and long, but saving someone in the hospital is priceless,” Guinevere Endter, the senior accountant manager for the American Red Cross, said.
Those are the words she uses to encourage every student that steps up to donate blood.
The American Red Cross bus has been here on campus the entire week of Nov. 17 to Nov. 20, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
It comes to the school twice a semester, every two months, to encourage students to donate blood. According to Endter, during the last three days, it had about 100 volunteers donating blood.
The prerequisites for students and staff members to donate blood consists of being 110 pounds or more and being 16 and older.
If the person is diabetic or has high cholesterol or high blood pressure, he can still donate. For people with tattoos, the tattoo policy is that if the tattoo has been on the body for one year, they are able to donate blood, as well.
Angel Cruz, a business major, said, “I am a little nervous to go donate blood, I know it might not seem like it, but I am terrified of needles. Either way, I am doing it because I know it is the right thing to do.”
Another donor, Uriel Rodarte, an arts major, added, “The process took about one hour, so I decided to come after my classes were done for the day. I feel good. And what is better than saving lives?”
The process before donating is only a couple of steps. First is prerequisite material, then you get out to the bus and take a physical that takes approximately 15 minutes.
Then, a person’s iron, blood pressure and temperature are checked. After all of that is done, the volunteer gets into bed and the blood donation begins.
It usually takes the average person around 10 minutes to donate the amount of blood needed, but some people are a little slower than others.
Marissa Gonzales, a dental assistant major, said,“ I was not going to do it, but then I thought if I ever need blood I would love for someone to help me out, so then I changed my mind about it.”
Guinevere Endter added, “Before you donate, eat a good meal, drink lots of water and bring a picture ID.”
