The Society of Medical Lab Scientists (SMLS) will host an on-campus blood drive Friday, Apr. 12 partnered with the UP Health System. It will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Wadsworth Hall basement rooms G17/G19.
Those interested in donating blood can sign up for a 45-minute appointment slot through QR codes posted around campus. If a desired time is not available, the blood drive accepts walk-ins prioritized behind appointment holders. Donors fill out paperwork and undergo a brief health screening. Donors must be at least 17 years old, over 110 pounds, and in generally good health. The full list of restrictions and more information is available on the UP Health System’s website.
Before the drive, prospective donors should prepare themselves. Marissa Ritter, the President of SMLS, said, “We encourage all our donors to drink plenty of water, even the week before their appointment. If someone’s really dehydrated and they try to donate, their blood sometimes stops flowing. It happens to everyone, but we can help reduce that if people do their homework and hydrate and eat something good beforehand.”
All blood donated through the UP Health System stays local. “We love the Red Cross and we love what they do. But it’s really nice to give back to our direct community… Especially in our little UP hospitals, we don’t get a lot of those resources that those bigger hospitals do,” says Ritter.
Donating blood helps in a variety of ways. The U.S. is consistently in a blood shortage. Matching blood donations to recipients can also be challenging. “There are actually over 40 different blood types. You have to check a ton of different qualities about the blood cells themselves. It’s really important to get as many donors as possible because there’s many blood types people don’t generally know about.” Ritter says. One unit of blood can save up to three lives. The red blood cells, plasma, and platelets taken in whole blood draws can be used for different patients.
“One fun thing that people like to do is see who can donate the fastest. I’ve had people at other blood drives where it takes them four minutes to donate a whole unit versus when I did it took me ten minutes. It’s kinda like a friendly competition if you want to get your friends together.”
In addition to co-hosting blood drives, SMLS supports medical lab science majors but involvement is open to any major. Those interested can use their involvement link to volunteer at blood drives or attend the bi-weekly meetings.
