The second of four University-wide blood drives this academic year will be held Wednesday, Nov. 11, at nine locations throughout the University.
All students, staff and faculty members are encouraged to participate in this effort to replenish the region’s blood supply.
“Our first University-wide drive of the year, held Sept. 15, was a great success,” said Stephanie Kurtzman, director of the Community Service Office and associate director of the Richard A. Gephardt Institute for Public Service. “We collected 443 productive units of blood, which helped to save more than 1,300 lives in the St. Louis region. We are grateful for the outpouring of support shown by the University community at each blood drive.”
Anyone who donated blood on or before Sept. 16 is eligible to donate in this drive.
Why donate blood? According to the American Red Cross, each year more than 4.5 million American lives are saved by blood transfusions. Every two seconds, someone in America needs blood. One in three people will need a blood transfusion in their lifetime, and there is no substitute for human blood.
The University-wide drives have proven quite effective. During the 2008-09 academic year, 1,845 productive units of blood were donated, compared with 609 units collected under an old model in the 2006-07 academic year.
To donate, sign up on online at communityservice.wustl.edu/bd. There, donors also can view a complete schedule with times and locations and sign up to be a volunteer at the drive.
The drive is sponsored by the Community Service Office in collaboration with the American Red Cross and Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center.
Future blood drives this academic year are scheduled for Jan. 26, 2010, and March 31, 2010.