It doesn’t matter the type, Chris Haagen, director of community service for Temple University chapter of the American Marketing Association, is not too picky.
In fact, he welcomes all blood types.
Every semester, TU-AMA and the International Business Association partner with the American Red Cross to organize a blood drive. This semester’s blood drive was held last Thursday.
Haagen, a senior marketing major, has donated three times.
He said the entire process takes about 40 minutes and “is such an easy thing to do that really impacts people in a positive way.”
There were 30 registered participants, but the group expected up to 50 people to come and donate.
Each donor is given a physical examination in which volunteers check a donor’s temperature, pulse, blood pressure and blood count to ensure he or she has a sufficient amount of red blood cells to safely donate.
Donors were asked a series of questions about their past and present health and lifestyles. According to the Red Cross Web site, the answers to the questions may prevent some from donating. Some restrictions include getting a tattoo within the past 12 months or weighing less than 110 pounds. Men who have had sexual intercourse with other males since 1977 were also restricted from donating.
“The donations have to be safe because of certain risks,” Haagen said.
However, junior university studies major Phillip Forbes thinks otherwise.
“Not allowing gay men to donate is messed up and falsely stereotypes [gay men],” said Forbes, who is gay.
He said denying homosexual males the opportunity to donate blood because they had sex perpetuates the stigma of promiscuity within the gay community.
“I would love to save lives by doing something as simple as donating blood,” Forbes said.
Alex Raileanu, a sophomore marketing major volunteered at the event.
“The requirements are ethical and meant for the safety of the people who need that blood,” Raileanu said.
Donors usually supply about a pint of blood, which can save up to three lives.
Emily Carfagno, a junior marketing major, has donated five times.
“I want to help out as much as I could, and it’s an easy way to save lives,” she said.
Although people may feel dizzy, have an upset stomach or feel pain from where the needle was inserted, there are no major side effects.
Haagen said only one person fainted at the blood drive.
After donating blood, donors have their arms bandaged and were given pretzels, juice, water and cookies.
After snacking, which helped balance donors’ sugar levels, they received stickers that read, “Be nice to me. I gave blood today.”
Matthew Petrillo can be reached at mattp@temple.edu.
Although the questionnaire and rules are designed to “safeguard” recipients of the donated blood it seems ridiculous that we are still restricting the donation of blood to those who are not homosexual. Despite these supposed safeguards and not allowing gay males to donate blood, people have still contracted the HIV virus from donated blood products (i.e. Ryan White – Google “Ryan White Care Act). Not too mention the highest number of new HIV infections is not found in gay males but African American females. They are not telling African American females they can not donate, so where is the logic in that? As a gay male working in healthcare it is pretty insulting to think that there is still a “Your gay, you must have AIDS” mentality out there.
It is great to see school help with blood donation. USC and UCLA have a competition going on this winter to increase blood donations in the Los Angeles area. The use of blood donation incentives such as point rewards to shop at over 300 online stores such as Macys’ is a real motivator. No donor information is shared. No set up or monthly fees. The incentive is more than a t-shirt, it is their choice of incentive.