The first day of the fall Red Cross blood drive held annually at Plymouth State University was Monday, October 23. The HUB saw a major influx of staff, student, community members and one very special donor, President Sara Jayne Steen. It was a pleasant surprise for students to see the President of the University in the Multi-Purpose Room of the HUB.
“I am a regular donor,” said President Steen, “I’m lucky enough to be able to and be in a position where I’m not the person that needs the blood.”
Along with President Steen, many students donated blood including Laurence Storey, a student giving double reds. Double reds is an involved procedure where double the amount of red blood cells than normal are given. This is the newest tool of the Red Cross in the fight against blood shortages all across the country.
“I came to donate blood to help out, but if there is any more I could do I would do it, so that is why I chose to give double reds,” Storey said. This is the new spirit of the PSU donor. PSU is constantly overshooting the goals that the Red Cross sets by huge numbers.
“The current goal for Monday is 65 useable units”, said Mike, a Red Cross Mobile Unit Assistant, “We are usually pretty busy here at PSU and we expect to make our goal.”
Every year, thousands of people are saved by blood donations. Up to three people can be saved by a single donation, so students are encouraged to take the time to give-and get some free pizza to boot.