By Victoria Gill
Elm Staff Writer
The Goose Nest resembled a hospital on Wednesday, Oct. 3, as students and faculty were patiently waiting to donate to a blood drive.
Washington College hosted the Blood Bank of Delmarva from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Goose Nest.
“You can be a hero just by rolling up your sleeve and giving blood,” Associate Professor of Chemistry and Department Chair Aaron Amick said.
One pint of blood can save up to three lives, according to the staff of the blood drive.
The Blood Bank of Delmarva has about 350 donors itself and supplies 19 hospitals in the region. This supply of blood helps around 20,000 patients a year, Amick said.
This event was presented by the Health Occupations Students of America, an organization on campus which, “enhances the delivery of compassionate, quality health care,” according to the WC website.
Junior Stephaney Wilson, who helped coordinate the event, said, “I believe that by donating blood, we are doing a huge service to the healthcare community at large … If you think about it, every two seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood. By giving blood you are saving lives, and that to me is powerful.”
Because of the large response to the blood drive, the Blood Bank team had to start turning away walk-ins at noon because of the appointments that had previously been registered.
Several students in line for the blood bank said it was their first time ever giving blood for donation.
Sophomore Leah Duff saw this as a priority to the community, and said there was “a first time for everything.”
The process of giving blood can be taxing. Including the wait, it generally takes about an hour.
Many students said that the time commitment outside of their day wouldn’t stop them from attending the event.
“Why shouldn’t I [donate]? I’m healthy and I have it,” Duff said.
There are also guidelines for donating blood, including no fresh tattoos or piercings, meeting a minimum weight and age requirement, and other health regulations to ensure the donor’s blood is safe for others to use.
This checklist did not deter students from donating blood. Many of the students in line did not seem nervous about giving.
Students took the time out of their busy days filled with classes, extracurriculars, and the other tables set up in the bottom of Hodson to divert their attention from this event.
“It’s one pint. It’s not much,” sophomore Will Reid said. “Whenever there is an opportunity I’ll try to do it.”
The staff at the Blood Bank said that one pint of blood can save up to three lives.
Wilson said, “We had 52 donations from 52 people. All in all, that would be a total of 156 lives saved. Every single person that donated became someone’s hero. It was very humbling to see and to be part of.”
Sophomore Heather Rohwein described how charitable giving blood was and said that the accessibility of the event and its presence at the school made it easier to attend for students who donated.
“I am in a position where I’m able to and people need it,” Rohwein said. “The world needs more of that.”