Last week, UW-Whitewater held the first of two blood drives this year in the Old Main Ballroom in the University Center.

The event was sponsored by the UW-Whitewater Optimist club, an organization dedicated to serving youth, and has planned the drive on campus for about 15 years.

Altogether, 237 people registered to donate blood.  A total of 205 units were collected from the drive.

American Red Cross Donor Recruitment Representative Meredith Londo said those 205 units of blood have the potential to help more than 600 people.

“It takes about one hour for one person’s donation process,” Londo said. “That [hour-long process] could save up to three people’s lives.”

After the donation process is complete, Londo said the blood is processed and tested in a facility before it is sent to hospitals.

“After the blood is donated, it is all taken to a facility in Madison and then it is processed,” Londo said. “We blood type every single unit that we collect and then we test it. We run anywhere between nine and 14 tests on it and once it clears all of that, it goes into the inventory for the hospitals.”

While turnout was not at its highest, local volunteer coordinator Jeanine Fassl said there were some who were turned away for different reasons.

“There are a number of reasons that people get deferred,” Fassl said. “There are some people who come in and they can’t donate because their iron is too low or they’ve got a fever or they have just been in some [country] that is off-limits.”

There is also a set of requirements in place for those who wish to donate blood.  Though the entire process takes an hour, Fassl said the donation process is fairly short.

“The actual donation process is only five to 12 minutes; the whole process takes about an hour,” Fassl said. “You need to be in good health, generally speaking. You must weigh [at least] 110 pounds, and be prepared to answer questions about drugs, sexual activity and travel.”

A recent trend in culture has also affected blood donation.  People with tattoos and piercings must wait one year after getting them before they can donate blood, unless they are done at a licensed parlor.  Fassl said all these restrictions have curtailed turnout.

“It used to be that five percent of the population would donate blood and that’s dropped to three percent when 85 percent are eligible to donate,” Fassl said. “I cannot stress the importance of blood donation. If you missed the drive, there are drives all around us.”

The next blood drive on campus will be held in April.  Each person is required to wait a minimum of 56 days between donations and some people may also be able to donate two units of blood in one sitting; however, they are required to wait double the amount of time between donations.

For more information on blood donation and places to donate, visit redcrossblood.org.