By Jennifer Deigan,
Staff Writer

RED CROSS VISITS SHU

In order to give blood, a person must be healthy, be at least 17 years old, weigh at least 110 pounds, and not have donated blood in the last 56 days. “Healthy” means that the donor feels well and can perform normal activities.

When people donate, they are asked for a form of identification. They then go into a private area where a mini-physical and an interview occur.

For the physical, the nurse takes the donor’s temperature, pulse, blood pressure, and pricks the finger to test the blood for iron. The nurse then cleans an area of the arm where the blood will be drawn from. The supplies are sterile and are used only once. At the beginning, there may be a brief sting from the needle, and the donation usually takes about ten minutes.

BREANNE HALL, ANNE MARTUCCI DONATING BLOOD

Although most people feel fine before and after donating blood, a small number of people may have an upset stomach, a faint or dizzy feeling, or a black and blue mark, redness, or pain where the needle was inserted.

Very rarely they may faint, have muscle spasms, and/or suffer nerve damage.

“I feel good, even though I passed out. Everybody needs to [donate] at least one time in their life,” said Holly Sines, freshman.

This year, St. Vincent’s College donated a total of sixty-six units of blood - only five more than Seton Hill, according to Jean Kayer, head of academic affairs at St. Vincent. Along with being in competition, Seton Hill had many of their own competitions going on, as well. The floor that had the most people sign up to give blood on October 27, 2004, received a prize. The winner of this year’s pizza party was third floor Brownlee, with a grand total of twenty one walk-ins.

“It doesn’t hurt that bad. The worst part is ripping off the bandage a few hours afterwards. I’m giving [the free movie pass] to my friend so we can go and see The Grudge tonight,” said Bay Zapola, freshman.

Other students at Seton Hill were also happy to donate. “I’ve been thinking about doing it for a long time because it’s for a good cause and I finally had the guts to do it. I felt good afterwards [knowing] that I did something nice for somebody [else’s] life”, said Scott Karan, senior.

“I’m the only person in my family that can [donate], so I do every chance I get and it’s good to know that I’m helping someone,” said Anne Martucci, sophomore.

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