UD blood drive sets new record

Blood Bank of Delmarva phlebotomist Holly Wilson prepares to draw blood from Marc Samonisky, men's soccer head coach.

5:14 p.m., Nov. 22, 2004--They started coming early to the Trabant University Center on Wednesday, Nov. 17, to participate in the Colonial Athletic Association’s 2004 “Have A Heart” Blood Challenge.

And they—students, staff, alumni and friends of UD—lined up in the Multipurpose Room in ever-increasing numbers throughout the day and well into the evening.

All told, some 857 potential donors showed up to do their part, and more than 558 units of blood were collected by staffers from the Blood Bank of Delmarva. Once again, the CAA Blood Challenge at UD sets a new record for the largest single-day event in Blood Bank of Delmarva’s history.

UD won the first CAA Blood Challenge in 2002, and last year set a record when 311 units of blood were collected from just over 408 prospective donors.

The winner of this year’s “Have A Heart” Blood Challenge will be announced by the Colonial Athletic Association after the Thanksgiving holiday.

Other CAA schools participating in the event include the University of North Carolina Wilmington; Drexel, George Mason, Hosftra, James Madison, Old Dominion, Towson and Virginia Commonwealth universities; and the College of William and Mary.

“I was surprised at how much the turnout increased over last year,” Edgar Johnson, director of intercollegiate athletics, said. “What great support UD gave to this drive!”

Johnson, who joined his departmental colleagues in arriving early to participate in the Blood Challenge, said he was impressed with how the drive grew in intensity as the day progressed.

“Initially, at 8 a.m., the Multipurpose Room had a small number of faculty and staff donors, with one or two students present,” Johnson said. “When I returned later in the morning, it was a very energized room, filled primarily with large numbers of students, and at every turn there was a sense of selfless giving and commitment to a cause.”

The sense of commitment and support of UD in its efforts to repeat as CAA Blood Challenge champion also was noticed by Curtis Krouse, director of sports marketing, who spent most of the day at the Trabant University Center, where staffers from the Blood Bank of Delmarva processed the continually growing number of potential student donors.

“The student support was very uplifting,” Krouse said. “They embraced the competition and came out big for UD. They really deserve some recognition for this.”

For Rebekah Kaplan, a freshman sociology major from Newark, donating blood was the best way she could think of to serve the community.

“You save two lives every time you give blood,” she said.

Mark Yocum, a junior chemical engineering major from Tamaqua, Pa., said that his participation in the “Have a Heart” Blood Challenge is both a personal and organizational commitment. As a member of the Kappa Alpha fraternity, Yocum has participated for the past two years in the Crimson Gift—a fraternity-driven campaign that encourages blood donations from all Kappa Alpha members.

“This is the second year I’ve been involved,” Yocum said. “I feel great. I came early because I figured it was going to be crowded, and I wanted to beat the lines.”

Blood Bank of Delmarva President Robert Travis said that the people who turned out to donate blood made two very powerful statements.

“They are very loyal to the University of Delaware, and they recognize a need and an opportunity to help others,” Travis said. “These are the people who volunteer throughout their lives and are the foundation of their communities.”

Travis said that every available Blood Bank of Delmarva staff member worked at least part of the day at UD to help process the record-setting number of registrations. Several worked from 6:30 a.m. until after 11 p.m.

“The effort put forth by a number of people at UD resulted in a record number of preregistrations. I knew we were in for a great day,” Travis said. “It made me very proud of our staff. It just has to make you feel good when so many people want to do a very good thing.”

Travis said that the timing of the challenge also is important.

“We need blood every day, and I believe that there are a number of students and faculty who will be donors for life,” Travis said. “We are going into the holiday season, when many blood donors have other priorities, and some communities experience blood shortages.”

The units collected at this year’s CAA Blood Challenge at UD will be sent to 18 hospitals and seven renal care facilities in the area, Emily Fowlie, Blood Bank of Delmarva external communications coordinator, said.

“We thought the drive went incredibly well, and we are proud of the results,” Fowlie said. “The blood will help us through the holiday season.”

Members of the UD community who missed the CAA “Have A Heart” Blood Challenge or who could not be processed due to the large turnout can still donate blood for the holiday season by calling the Blood Bank of Delmarva at (302) 737-8400.

Article by Jerry Rhodes and Becca Hutchinson
Photo by Kathy Atkinson

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