More University of Wisconsin students, faculty and staff than expected donated blood at the Kohl Center Friday. In fact, more people donated at the UW campus than ever before.
Bucky’s Record Blood Drive, an effort planned to attract the highest number of possible donors on campus, garnered 789 potential donors, which stands as more than the goal of 750. The previous record was 189 donors at a Witte Hall campaign.
UW Athletic Director and Badgers head football coach Barry Alvarez lent his support and opened the drive at the Nicholas-Johnson Pavilion. The event was mostly planned by the student organization Give Life, according to American Red Cross donor recruitment representative for the UW campus Kelly McCoy.
“A lot of the credit is due to [the students],” McCoy said, adding the blood drive took about six months to organize.
UW junior and Give Life student spokesperson Krystle Ficco said a big factor to the drive’s success can be attributed to the hundreds of volunteers. Ficco said more than 200 UW students and staff and approximately 70 people from the Madison community and Red Cross volunteered.
Ficco also noted the importance of the amount of first time young blood donors.
“Baby boomers have been the most to donate blood,” Ficco said. “Now baby boomers are the blood recipients.”
Ficco said donors who start while they are young traditionally donate throughout their lifetime.
“It’s very important to become first time blood donors.”
Ficco also emphasized the need for a tremendous amount of blood donated every week. She said more than 5,000 people need blood every week in the Badger-Hawkeye region, which includes Northern Illinois, Eastern Iowa, Wisconsin and the western peninsula of Michigan state. She said donations from more than 750 people giving blood impacts that number immensely, because three different people could benefit from just one donor giving one pint of blood.
“The importance of giving blood is the realization it’s the easiest way to help [these] people,” Ficco said, adding there is a need for blood donations 365 days a year.
The Kohl Center was chosen as the location of the drive because of its capacity to hold large numbers of people and its proximity to the majority of students living in the downtown area. Ficco said many UW faculty and staff members gave blood as well.
McCoy said there was a three-prong effort to attract so many donors, including asking past student donors to give blood. McCoy said the drive sought out the Greek community for help, where they received 150 volunteer and donor commitments. The drive’s presenters also gave seminars to more than 60 student groups around campus, gaining more than 450 commitments.
Ficco and McCoy hope to continue Bucky’s Record Blood Drive on an annual basis. McCoy urged those who missed the event to donate at Young Blood, the nation’s oldest campus-run blood donation center located in Union South, or to visit the Red Gym, Wednesday, April 21 for a “make-up” blood drive.
