Volunteer A-State teamed up with the American Red Cross to host a blood drive from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 18-19 at Centennial Hall.

Tyler Stokes, a collections technician at the American Red Cross, said coming to Arkansas State University for a blood drive helped increase opportunities for lives to be saved.

“This job is very rewarding. Going to any blood drive is very rewarding and inspiring. It’s nice to see that people like to come and donate regularly and they feel like they are doing a service to others by giving their blood,” Stokes said.

Stokes said she wanted the donors to feel they accomplished something special. She said donating blood is bigger than the individual giving blood.

Hannah Light, a collections technician for the American Red Cross said one bag of blood will save more than one person.

Brook Bernard, a radiology major from Memphis, gave blood for the first time.  

“I always wanted to do this for the school to try to help out but I was never old enough, now I am,” Bernard said. “I could save someone’s life.”  

Sharing blood does not just help those in need of blood, but it also helps prevent blood-related diseases, such as sickle-cell disease. 

According to the Red Cross, sickle cell is “an inherited blood disorder that causes red blood cells to become hard and sickle-shaped, which can block blood flow and cause serious health complications.”

Colby Brockmeyer, a bio technician for American Red Cross, said African Americans need to donate to prevent the large number of sickle cells within the African American Community.

“African American donors, we need your guys’ blood so bad,” Brockmeyer said.

Brockmeyer said the main deterrent from African Americans not giving blood is due to them not knowing the size or severity of the needle and the impact that they could have on their community. 

“It’s very important, sickle cells are huge in the black community, and we need that blood. And maybe 3% are African American donors,” Brockmeyer said.

Brockmeyer said not having a relationship with the African American community has been the biggest fall of blood drives. 

 “It is huge, especially a hard relationship with the African American community. If we could get our relationship with them  back to working condition, it would be life changing,” Brockmeyer said.

According to the American Hospital Association, 3% of the eligible U.S. population donates blood each year. About 90 hospital-based blood centers and 53 community blood centers are registered with the Food and Drug Administration. 

“A lot of people don’t even think about it anymore, especially the younger crowd. All we get is old people,” Brockmeyer said.

She said it is important for college students to give as much as they can while they are still young and fully healthy. 

“For some, it’ll be that they never come back. Others, they are actually going to know the significance of what they just did and they’re going to come back each month here, like in the college setting, it gives an opportunity for more people to know about it,” Brockmeyer said.

To donate blood you have to be at least 17-year-old and 110 pounds. More information on the blood drives and donor eligibility can be found at RedCrossBlood.org.

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