Members of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst community lined up once again to give blood during an American Red Cross blood drive yesterday.
Many were turned away late in the day, either by staff or by the sign outside of the Campus Center Auditorium, where the nine donor beds were set up.
“The Red Cross is no longer taking blood donations today due to the high volume of people already waiting to donate,” the hand marked sign read. “Please understand that the urgent need for blood has been met, but we will need your help in the months to come. Thank you for your overwhelming support.”
The drive, much like the one held last week, was a success, registered nurse Mary Doyle said.
“This has been a wonderful response. They [the donors] waited, oh I don’t know, but I bet over two hours,” Doyle said. “We’ll have at least 100 units by the time all these people get through.”
Though the demand in New York and other places has been filled, the blood collected at UMass will go wherever its needed, after being screened in a Red Cross lab. The high turnout has been beneficial to keeping blood stores high, said Barry Sullivan, a Mobile Unit Attendant (MUA) for the Red Cross.
“The response has been unbelievable. I think this is one of the highest suppliers in Massachusetts,” Sullivan said. “This blood is sent to wherever its needed.”
The problem, MUA Louis Howe explained, is that the demand is always high.
“Well, its always been needed. They’ve [the hospitals] sent out a lot,” Howe said. “Surpluses never last long; a day or two. We still need the donations.
“All this goes to the lab. If we have a bad car accident, we’re going to need blood,” Howe added. “They still need blood.”
Students sat in chairs, getting screened by nurses, filling out paper work, or waiting for an open bed. Over at the canteen set up for donors by Red Cross Volunteers, donors sat munching snacks and drinking juices to replace lost blood sugars.
“This is my fifth time donating,” sophomore Linguistics major Julia Hanley said. “One of my friends was on the second plane that hit the towers.”
Hanley and Sarah Kashi, a freshman Mathematics major and third time donor, agree that turnout has been higher since the attacks.
“I give all the time,” Kashi said. “I figured this would be a good time.”
Undeclared freshman George Paglieroni sat in a chair waiting to donate.
“I just wanted to do my part. I tried going to Springfield, but the lines were too long and they told me to come back later. I’ve waited an hour or so,” Paglieroni said. “This is my third time trying, its always been packed.”
High turnouts have been the norm since the Sept. 11 attacks.
“It’s been mostly students, but I’ve seen some faculty, some people who are employees of the university in one way or another. I’ve even seen some familiar faces from the community, people who own stores in Amherst,” Howe said. “One thing about Americans, they’re fantastic in an emergency. We generally do good here, but the past two times have been better.”
