After receiving a blood transfusion that helped save her life in 2006, Katie Welch knew she wanted to give back.
Welch suffered a congenital defect for which the cure involved a series of surgeries where she received blood from donors.
Blood challenge saves lives
Economics senior Mike Sillence raises his arm after donating blood at the Red Cross Blood Drive on Monday afternoon at the MSU Union.
The anthropology junior is vice president of the MSU Red Cross Club and is contributing to the American Red Cross’ effort to collect thousands of pints of blood from MSU students in the Pennsylvania State University-MSU challenge.
“Even though you don’t see the direct effect when you give blood you never know who you’re going to help,” Welch said.
“They could be sitting in class right next to you.”
Spartans will vie with Penn State students in a three-week quest to collect the most units of blood between 30 on-campus blood drives.
The blood challenge kicked off Monday at the Union where the American Red Cross collected 49 pints of blood and more than 70 students attempted to donate. The drive continues until Nov. 15.
Jeb Caudill, communications and marketing manager for the American Red Cross in Lansing, said the competition with Penn State is organized to give students something to take pride in.
The blood collected is used for a variety of surgeries and cancer treatments at 129 different hospitals in Michigan, Caudill said.
“A donation of blood is unlike any other donation,” he said. “You are giving the gift of yourself when you donate blood.”
Caudill said with the advancement of medical technologies that require blood products, the demand for blood donors is increasing.
Cameron Kielhorn, president of the MSU Red Cross Club, works with the American Red Cross to promote blood drives throughout the year.
Kielhorn, a medical technology senior, said the blood drives often raffle football game tickets, iPods and gift certificates as incentives for donors.
“Being such a large university, they may not get to see the direct result of what they’re doing and how it affects other people,” Kielhorn said.
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“But it’s a good thing to do it because it saves lives.”
The American Red Cross regularly collects blood from both MSU and Penn State. This is the 14th year the organization sponsored the challenge.
Caudill said the filter process to donate a pint of blood can take about 10 minutes, however, registration and check-in can take up to an hour.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration prohibits blood donors who are IV users, sexually-active homosexual males, received tattoos or piercings in the past year, traveled to areas that carry high risks of certain diseases and other restrictions.
Caudill said the American Red Cross will announce the winner of the blood challenge at the Nov. 17 MSU-Penn State football game at MSU.
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