On Monday, Jan. 25, USU Eastern students and community members were given the chance to donate blood at a drive hosted by the university’s Serving Utah Network (SUN) Center held at the Jennifer Leavitt Student Center on USU Eastern’s Campus.
Jaren Yates, one of the center’s involvement leaders, along with fellow leader Nichole Bishop, were placed in charge of Monday’s drive. The center has hosted drives annually each semester and is something that students have come to expect and take part in, this semester’s being no exception.
“Our goal originally was to have 70 people sign up,” explained Yates. The goal was further narrowed down to 50 in regards to individuals who, due to certain extenuating circumstances, cannot donate even after signing up.
“We actually exceeded our goal of 50,” asserted Yates, referring to a total of 63 individuals were able to donate. Each unit donated can save up to three lives, which translates to approximately 189 lives that could donate from Monday’s drive.
“There’s a tremendous need for blood in the community,” further stated Yates. “Someone needs a blood transfusion in the United Sates every two seconds,” with such statistics leading to more than 40,000 people needing a transfusion a day.
“Comparatively speaking, what we did was a drop in the bucket,” the involvement leader said. “But it’s still good. It’s a reminder of what a great need there is in our communities.”