LifeSouth, a community blood supplier, held a blood drive from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday on Capstone Drive by Gorgas House.
According to Cortis Pearson, a LifeSouth worker, last week’s ice storm caused a delay in the blood drive.
“We had to cancel three days worth of donations during the snow,” Pearson said.
On average, LifeSouth collects 25 units of blood per drive. Each unit of blood saves three lives. Due to the inclement weather, Life South lost the chance to save a potential of 225 lives.
“The blood supply is always low and we lost a lot of units during the snowy days,” Pearson said.
LifeSouth comes to the Capstone once every two weeks to give students the opportunity to donate blood. According to Pearson, the turnaround rate for those who donate again is about 95 percent.
LifeSouth focuses on supplying donated blood to hospitals within the community, and is therefore slightly different from the Red Cross.
“Red Cross is International and with us, the blood you donate here, stays here in the South,” Pearson said.
Donors receive a complimentary LifeSouth backpack for their contribution.
Matt Wilson, a junior majoring in elementary education, has donated blood to LifeSouth and other blood banks several times and said he felt good knowing that he was helping save someone’s life.
“This is probably my 7th or 8th time donating blood and I do it because it makes me feel good to know I am helping someone out who needs blood since I have plenty and am happy to share,” Wilson said.
Dylan Till, a freshman majoring in political science said he has also donated blood several times in the past and thinks it’s just a good thing to do.
“I just do it to do it, I don’t feel like I have to have a reason to donate blood,” Till said.
Anyone can donate to the LifeSouth blood drive as long as they have proper identification and meet the health requirements. The full process takes less than 30 minutes to complete.
“People that donate once almost always come back to donate again in the future. We have a great turnaround ratio,” Pearson said.
