From September 2015 through October 2016, Community College of Allegheny County has collected 148 pints of blood from nine blood drives hosted across its four regional campuses.
The blood drives are typically held during the fall and spring semesters, and each CCAC campus coordinates drives with the Central Blood Bank as well as nursing staff and drivers who transport and set up medical equipment.
Various groups of college students and employees are involved in coordinating the blood drives. These include the campus Student Life offices and student Honors Societies. Phi Theta Kappa, the national honor society for two-year college students, has hosted the blood drives at Boyce Campus for nearly 30 years. At North Campus, the Student Life Department and Psi Beta, a psychology national honor society, co-sponsor the blood drives. At the South and Allegheny campuses and West Hills Center, Student Life staff members coordinate the efforts.
Linda D. Neubauer, student development specialist at Boyce Campus, has been the campus blood drive coordinator for nearly 30 years and is also the Phi Theta Kappa chapter advisor.
“You’ve heard the old saying, ‘you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink,” she says. “Well, you can bring a blood drive to campus, but you can’t make them donate. Blood drive coordinators combat fear, mistaken beliefs, ignorance and indifference. Dispelling these and other intangibles is a challenge as well as a process.”
According to Neubauer, blood drive organizers encourage participation through displaying posters, flyers and promotional items around the campus that are provided by Central Blood Bank. Announcements are also posted on college social media outlets, campus TV monitors and the college’s website. Direct messaging is done through email blasts to staff and Honors Society members, as well as by word-of-mouth from students and faculty. Some faculty members give extra credit to students who donate, however, participation is entirely voluntary.
“Sometimes, all it takes is a friend to go with you to donate blood,” she says. “Each blood drive hosted at our campuses is a valuable learning experience for the students and staff of our CCAC family. It is a vital, life-saving tradition we instill now and hope that everyone continues in the future.”
Members of the Phi Theta Kappa and Psi Beta Honors societies recruit their fellow students at information tables and take sign-up sheets to their classes, encouraging donors to schedule appointments prior to the blood drive. On the day of the drive, the society members assist at the snack and beverage tables by passing out refreshments and thank-you gifts to donors.
At Boyce Campus, Neubauer hosts the blood drives in the Student Union, the busiest location on campus.
“Our students and staff can read promotional posters, learn from educational materials and speak with blood drive staff,” she says. “They can witness blood drive equipment and nurses in action. They can see instructors and campus staff members donating blood. Students can watch their classmates donating blood while sometimes waiting patiently in line to donate blood.”
CCAC holds blood drives because they play a crucial role in the delivery of healthcare in the Pittsburgh region, and they support or save thousands of lives each year. Blood drives at the campuses enable students, staff and faculty to give back to their communities and make a real difference in the lives of others.
“In addition to donating blood, volunteering at the blood drives is a wonderful opportunity for students to perform a valuable community service,” Neubauer says. “Despite miraculous advancements, there is no substitute for human blood.”
Among the most challenging aspects are coordinating the date, space and time, and getting people to sign up in advance so organizers know how many participants to expect. Making sure participants keep their appointments can also be a challenge — many college students have full schedules, so scheduling the blood drives at convenient times and locations is important, Neubauer says.
“The most rewarding part of coordinating the blood drives is knowing that we are doing our part to give back and are actually helping to save lives,” she says. “It benefits us all when people donate blood. We never know when one of us or a loved one may need blood as a life-saving treatment.”
