The American Red Cross was on the Rio Hondo campus on March 1 for a blood drive open to students and the local community wanting to support local blood banks. Collection technicians were ready and available to promote the benefits of donating and educate about heart health. March marks the last month in which the signature Red Cross bloodmobiles will be used for community outreach, as future blood drives will only be done indoors starting this April.
Amazon gift cards were used as incentives to promote donation sign-ups. Collections were taken within the Red Cross bloodmobile stationed outside of the Learning Resource Center in the lower quad from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with no appointment needed.
First-timers, once signed up, a collection technician conducts a private pre-screening session, during which they ask a series of questions about personal health. The tech wants to find out if any red flags would deem someone as ineligible for donation; screens to ensure that the blood being collected is not tainted. “We test for 13 different STDs…The major ones, HIV, AIDS, types of Hepatitis. We also test for the type of blood you have,” said Jose Virrey, collection technician for the Red Cross. Even though blood is always needed, the recipient must be safe from harmful transmissions.
Virrey, who has been a collection tech for 29 years now, promotes there are many positive points when considering donating. “We recommend donating once or twice a year. It helps to lower hemoglobin. The higher it is, the thicker the blood, and your heart has to work harder to pump it. Donating blood is like an oil change. You get rid of some old blood and get your body to make some new blood. A study done in the UK over a span of 25 years showed that those who donate more blood throughout their lifetime tend to live longer and have better heart health. And currently we are including A1C screening, for sugar levels to see if you are diabetic or prediabetic. We are doing it to help out the donors to be well educated on their health,” said Virrey.
Katherine Hibner, a 20-year-old biology major, is a returning donor. The Type O – blood that runs through her veins makes her the pretty coveted donor. “I have (Type) O – blood and I like to give blood when I can. This is my fourth time donating. I downloaded the red cross blood app. It tracks everything and shows you your health profile. Honestly there are a lot of benefits. It gets rid of forever chemicals in your blood. I did research on how it kind of detoxes the body. Not only that, but I like to give back. My sister actually has some health problems, so I feel like I am helping someone like my sister,” said Hibner.
Red Cross will discontinue their bloodmobiles starting April 1. From then on, “all” drives will be held indoors. For instance, blood drives will no longer be possible at Starbucks, which has been a significant partner of the organization for many years. Because the well-known coffee giant is a food and beverage establishment, collections would not be possible for unsanitary and spacing reasons. This means finding new partners who can provide adequate accommodations. Yet, holding the drives indoors can come with its perks because it would mean more collections can be done simultaneously and would eliminate specific permits required for the mobile unit.
For more information on how and where to donate, call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767), visit RedCrossBlood.org, or download the Blood Donor App.
