The tragic events that unfolded on Sept. 11 brought the need for blood donations. Countless citizens formed what seemed to be endless lines at the American Red Cross and hospitals around the nation in order to donate blood. Blood they hoped would be able to save one of the many victims of this act of terrorism.
As the rest of the nation sprung into action, so did Quinnipiac University, with the help of student Sean Deland.
Not long after hearing of the attack on America, Deland, a junior, phoned Joyce Ramsey at the American Red Cross to learn where blood drives were being set up in the Hamden area.
He quickly set up shop in room 207 of the Student Center, enlisting his friends for help, forming car pools to the emergency blood drives located at the Grassy Hill Country Club in Orange and the Branford Elk’s Club.
Deland was overwhelmed with the response, which quickly increased in a matter of minutes. “I thought maybe I would get five people to show up,” Deland said. “Now there are 100 people here.”
Lauren O’Leary, a sophomore, who donated blood at the Branford Country Club, shared her feelings about why so many people donated. “Everyone felt helpless and wanted to do something, donating blood was something. So many people on campus jumped in so quickly to help out, especially Sean,” she said.
Four carloads of students left for donation locations, one driven by McLean, an Associate Professor of Political Science. Not long after their departure, Quinnipiac was asked to stop sending donators, at least on Tuesday. The locations had received an abundance of caring people who wished to help out; there were too many donors for the staff to handle.
Deland asked students to form lists, telling students he would find more locations and send more students out in the morning. More than 300 students signed up, wishing to be contacted immediately.
“This shows that there is still life on this campus and students still want to actively participate,” Deland said.
Unfortunately, Deland spoke with a Red Cross representative in the morning, who asked the school not send any students because they were still inundated with people walking in off the street and would not be able to service them.
While students can try and donate blood independently, Quinnipiac student-run organizations are working with the Red Cross to host a blood drive on campus in October. TKE, a prominent fraternity of campus, are cosponsoring the event with CAP, the Community Actions Project. The blood drive will be held on October 23 and 24.
While blood banks are turning down donors at this time, blood will still be needed in the coming weeks and months. There will be a time in the near future when donations will be needed from those who were previously turned.
For more information on blood donation locations, call the American Red Cross at 881-5074.