Jennifer Troendle spent about 30 minutes of her day Monday saving three lives. She lounged in a lawn chair between classes to give a pint of her blood to the annual Fall Blood Drive in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union. “It’s fairly quick and easy to do between classes because it doesn’t take a lot of time out of your day,” said Troendle, senior in secondary education. “I give because there is a shortage of the number of people who give blood.” The drive is being held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day this week and is the largest student-run blood drive in the country. “Students run it, donate it. It’s our baby,” said John Livingston, co-director of the blood drive. Christine Hayes, public relations manager for the Blood Center of Central Iowa, said Iowa State has one of the best drives in the state due to the number of people who get involved. The tradition of having fall and spring blood drives every year also improves the drive, she said. Blood drive organizers are seeking 2,000 people to donate this semester. “A half an hour of your time in one semester can save three lives,” said Livingston, senior in history. To achieve the goal of 2,000 pints of blood, the drive is incorporated with the greek Homecoming competition. A trophy will be awarded at the Homecoming Pep Rally to the first-place team pairing that gives the most blood, Livingston said. A trophy or plaque also will be given to second- and third-place teams. Besides reaching to members of the greek community to donate, this year’s committee also sought community members and dorm residents. Livingston said the blood drive committee will be giving away extra prizes such as televisions to the residence halls with the most participants. “We want everyone to donate,” Livingston said. “It’s a really good thing. It saves lives.” To donate blood, volunteers must be between the ages of 17 and 70, at least 110 pounds and in good health, said Kyla Schminke, lab assistant for Cedar Rapids’ Mercy Hospital. She said donors should also have eaten within four hours of giving blood and should drink lots of water so that blood vessels are hydrated and easier to find. Once Troendle had given her pint, she listened to post-donating instructions from the blood-drive nurses, and her arm was wrapped with Coflex tape to stop the bleeding. After a friendly conversation with blood-drive volunteers during her snack of cookies and juice, Troendle walked out of the Memorial Union sporting a blood-drive sticker and knowing she had saved three lives.