About 180 ISU students, faculty and staff donated blood during the first day of the ISU fall blood drive, “Healing America’s Broken Heart” Monday.

“It went well,” said Katie Boes, member of the blood drive committee. “The numbers were a little low, but it’s kind of common for the first day of the drive. Everyone was still excited.”

Amy Shetler, co-director of the committee, said 180 units were donated Monday, short of the day’s goal of 220.

“That’s still good for a Monday,” she said.

The goal for the rest of the week is about 310 donations per day. The overall goal for the drive is 1,850 donations of blood from students, faculty, staff and the Ames community, said Boes, junior in journalism and mass communication, up from last year’s goal of 1,595 donations.

The blood drive is taking place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day until Friday in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union.

“It’s a lot of fun,” said Shetler, junior in apparel merchandising, design and production.

“We have a ton of food, and we have entertainment.”

The ISU Pom Squad will perform Wednesday and Dance Marathon dancers will perform the morale dance every day.

Donations have increased as a result of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Shetler said.

“I think it’s really great to see more people coming out, and I think it partly has to do with that,” she said.

The waiting period between donations is 56 days, which means anyone who donated before Sept. 14 will be able to donate blood during the drive, Boes said.

Students can volunteer their time as well as their blood. Volunteers help serve food in the canteen, escort donors to and from the canteen and help check donors in and out.

“All you have to do is arrive at the blood drive,” Boes said. “They can go in whenever they want.”

But during slow times, some volunteers may get turned away.

“It honestly depends on the number of people we have giving blood,” Shetler said. “If you come at the right time, then we’ll have a place for you.”

The annual event is organized in conjunction with six blood centers. The sponsoring organizations include the American Red Cross, Mary Greeley Medical Center, Mercy Medical Center Blood Bank, St. Luke’s Hospital Blood Bank, Southeast Iowa Blood Center and the Blood Center of Central Iowa.

The spring blood drive will take place in the first week of March.