Jatu McCrayOnce again N. C Central University held its Eagle Pride Blood drive on Sept. 19-20.
The drive, which was held on the 2nd floor of the New Student Center, was organized by Seronda Robinson, a professor in the Department of Public Health Education.
The Eagle Pride Blood Drive has been going on for more than 50 years.
NCCU collaborates with the Red Cross organization to collect blood from students. For the past few years, the blood drive has been held every two months on campus.
The goal is to help save lives with the collected blood from the students.
The Department of Public Health Education spearheads the event but has since expanded with the help of different organizations.
Organizations like the Office of Student Services and Engagement help with getting the message out to students about the blood drive.
“We try to get various organizations to partner with us and to help us spread the word because donors are the number one component in the blood drives,” said Robinson.
Students are offered up to 21 hours of community service for their blood contribution. And that is the incentive for many.
“Can I be honest? I only came for the community service hours, but it feels good to help save a life,” said one junior after making her donation.
The student said the process was fast and the workers made sure she was comfortable.
Each year the Eagle Pride Blood Drive, with four collection events, brings in approximately 1,300 units of blood during an academic year.
This translates into approximately 400 students donating blood.
But Robinson says student donation rates have been declining.
“Our goal was to collect 1,500 units of blood … our numbers have gone down significantly with a new generation of students”
The Red Cross has been struggling with blood donation shortfalls across the nation. According to that organization blood supplies are down about 25 percent since early August.
Every day approximately 29,000 units of blood are needed in the U.S. for a variety of needs, including patients suffering from cancer, sickle cell anemia, severe burns, and automobile accidents.
Each student donation can change a life. “Come out and do it. It’s a great thing to do,” said Eagle Blood Drive donor Trevaughn Baker.
