ASUNM Community Experience is giving students a chance to shed blood.
The on-campus community service program is partnering up with United Blood Services for what it hopes will be a record-breaking blood drive. The drive started Tuesday and continues today in SUB Ballroom B.
Ryan Wooley, communications director of ASUNM Community Experience, said students don’t always understand the impact of donating blood.
“A student can come and donate blood in between classes and potentially save someone’s life,” he said.
Donating is not painful, but a way to help out community members, said Julia Carrion, projects director for ASUNM Community Experience.
“It’s not a big deal for us, but it’s a big deal for someone else,” she said.
The goal this year is to break last year’s 130 donations record. Appointments are available for those with busy schedules, but slots are filling up quickly. As of Monday, 172 of the 176 available appointments had been filled, Carrion said. She said walk-ins are accepted.
Bonnie Chavez, a senior donor recruitment representative for United Blood services, said Albuquerque’s blood bank gives blood to 40-50 hospitals in the region. She said 320 units of blood are used in regional hospitals every day.
Chavez said that for each donor United Blood Services receives one unit of blood.
“It is our goal to keep the blood on the shelf,” she said. “We expect over the next two days to receive 99-115 units.”
Chavez said it’s a common misconception that those on medication or who have piercings or tattoos have to wait at least a year to donate blood.
“If an individual got a tattoo in a shop in the state of New Mexico or the other 30 licensed states, they are good to go. Same with a piercing,” she said.
UNM student Britney Roybal said that’s good news, since she has piercings.
“I want to donate blood, but thought I couldn’t,” she said.
