When Vanessa Kinney, a 21-year-old psychology major, entered the conference room where SF State’s blood drive was being held last week, her face was sheet white and her eyes anxiously darted around the room of chair beds.
Despite her visible anxiety, Kinney wanted to donate blood.
“Needles, nurses and blood in general - I can’t stand (them),” Kinney explained. “My mother is AB negative, which is a rare blood type and if anything happened to her I would want someone to help.
“Although I am not her same blood type, I can help another person.”
At the drive, held by Blood Centers of the Pacific, other students also donated blood because they had a personal relationship with a friend or relative who needed blood.
“My uncle had kidney problems in the past and had lots of blood transfusions, so that’s why I thought I should help others,” said Grace Layugan, a biology major.
The United States is experiencing increasingly low blood supplies. There is not only a shortage of blood in the nation, but more blood is needed every day, according to the American Red Cross. There are 38,000 pints of blood needed every day, according to America’s Blood Centers, a non-profit network of blood donation clinics. Every other second, someone in the nation needs blood.
"We have always experienced a shortage," said Kelli Quinlan, who has worked as a recruiter for Blood Centers of the Pacific for over two years.
To combat this problem, many SF State students have chosen to take an active role by donating blood at on-campus blood drives. Most students at the event last Thursday came simply because they wanted to contribute to society.
"I started giving blood just to be helpful," said LaToya Keller, a criminal justice major. "There's a possibility you can save someone's life, whether you know it or not."
Bay Area hospitals use close to 500 pints of blood per day, but the Blood Centers of the Pacific can only supply around 250 pints, according to Quinlan. The non-profit organization imports blood from other parts of the country. They supply blood to over 40 hospitals in the Bay Area, which accounts for over 50,000 patients annually.
"I like to give blood, especially since I'm O positive, and O is good for anybody, " said Omar Acala, an 18-year-old business major.
There are two main reasons for the increased shortage. First, blood is perishable, and can only be used for 42 days once it is donated. Second, more rigid eligibility guidelines, which changed in 2001, make it more difficult to ensure blood is available for every patient who needs it.
New travel restrictions prevent people from donating blood if they have stayed more than three months in a country that has had an outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (commonly called “mad cow disease”) or have stayed in Europe for more than six months after 1980.
After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, intense patriotism led more Americans to be blood donors, according to the American Red Cross. In September 2001 alone, 900,000 people gave blood at Red Cross blood drives. This was an increase of more than 46 percent from the previous year.
But by the end of 2002, there had been only a seven percent increase in the yearly total donations.
"September 11 was a wake-up call to Americans, "said Ty Ronquillo, a 28-year-old political science major. "It's imperative that we help our neighbors without any recognition, only gratitude."
Ronquillo said his interest in giving blood was sparked by a high school speaker who urged students to donate, and later when joined the Army. He has been donating blood every eight weeks for the last 10 to 11 years.
Ronquillo's fraternity heavily promoted SF State's past drive and at least a dozen of his brothers were signed up for appointments.
After giving blood last week on campus, Ronquillo said he felt fantastic, mentally and physically.
"They say you're not supposed to work out the whole day after you give blood, but I'm going surfing," said Ronquillo. "That's only because I have done this before, though, and (I) know my own body."
In addition to the good karma that results from saving lives, blood donors will receive a mini-physical and learn their blood type.
There will be two more on-campus blood drives this semester – May 5 at the Village at Centennial Square, and May 9 at Mary Ward Hall.