Editorial: Support the blood drive and save lives
Equipment for the Iowa State Blood Drive takes up space in the Memorial Union from March 11-14 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Students who donate blood not only help someone in need, but receive a free t-shirt. Donating blood helps save three lives while burning 650 calories.
March 12, 2019
1962 was the beginning of our bi-annual Blood Drive, and now those four days that are dedicated to the donation of blood in order to save lives has come to us once again.
You might be thinking that donating your blood won’t make a difference and that one less person donating, won’t lessen the impact on others people lives — wrong. The blood that is donated matters all the way up to the last drop that is given. To give you an idea: one pint of blood has the ability to save up to three lives.
If you’re interested in having the opportunity to save a life, donating blood is one of the many ways you can do just that. But there are some things that one should do in order to prepare yourself to donate.
Before you donate, you first want to make sure you avoid taking aspirins for at least two days before the donation, for taking aspirins result in the thinning of blood.
Secondly, you want to make sure you eat lots of iron-rich foods. Foods like: red meat, poultry, beans and leafy greens help bump up the amount of iron in your body which will help guarantee your chances of being able to donate blood.
Another important thing you want to keep in mind when it comes to preparing to donate blood and is usually always recommended in every other occasion, is making sure one stays hydrated as well as getting a good night’s sleep beforehand.
The Iowa State Blood Drive, along with many other organizations, is working towards helping fix shortages of blood in our hospitals. It is estimated that every two seconds someone is in dire need of blood.
Imagine how many lives we could save if our campus as a whole would gather together to donate for a good cause. With only 32,000 pints that are estimated to be donated each day, the impact we would have if every student, faculty and staff member donated would be huge. Sure, not everyone on campus has the ability to donate, but if we gathered the same number of people who can donate, we would save so many more lives than we already have.
Iowa State students, faculty and staff have the opportunity to donate blood and help save someone’s life. The blood drive began Monday and will end Thursday.
