Jays gathered in the Skutt Ballroom on Sept. 16th and Sept. 18th to donate blood. The blood drive was administered by the American Red Cross.
Creighton University Medical School hosted a blood drive in the Skutt Ballroom, administered by the American Red Cross.
Students and potential donors were encouraged to register ahead of time through the American Red Cross; however, walk-ins were also welcomed and encouraged to attend the event, held on Sept. 16 and Sept. 18.
Joe Niemeier, a junior in the College of Nursing who donated blood on Sept. 18, said he thoroughly enjoyed his experience.
“It’s been fantastic. I think the professionals know what they’re doing, and they’ve done a fantastic job answering questions, and also making sure everything’s done correctly,” Niemeier said. “Everyone should donate blood.”
Kealy Johnson, second-year medical student at Creighton, served as a coordinator for the blood drive. To encourage students to register for the blood drive, Johnson and other coordinators recruited students to register by tabling at Skutt and Harper. Additionally, the coordinators hung up posters, emailed Creighton’s schools and communicated with the American Red Cross to ensure the event ran smoothly.
This was not Creighton’s first blood drive with the American Red Cross.
“Creighton’s actually a premier partner for the American Red Cross,” Johnson said. “So, we’re always trying to make sure they have one [blood drive] here. They reserve spots for us four times out of the year so that we can really keep our numbers up, because Creighton students are really good about donating blood.”
This year, Creighton surpassed its goal of reaching 35 units of blood donated.
“On Tuesday, the 16th, it was looking like we were going to have about 40 units donated, which is really great,” Johnson said.
Hannah Bohacek, a collections technician for the American Red Cross, worked as a phlebotomist at the blood drive at Creighton this year. Bohacek has worked at other Creighton blood drives in the past, specifically at Creighton’s dental school.
As a phlebotomist, Bohacek collects blood from donors.
“We have to follow a really stringent procedure to be able to collect it [blood] safely and to protect the blood supply,” Bohacek said.
Bohacek also assists with educating the public about eligibility status and why it’s important to donate blood.
“This one is really a lively blood drive … so we’ve had a lot of walk-ins, and everyone has just been amazing and, you know, been really excited to learn about the process too,” Bohacek said.
The blood drive this year was viewed as a success due to its attraction to a variety of donors. The addition of walk-in donors allowed for the American Red Cross to collect more blood than it would have if just relying on registrations.
“It’s been pretty awesome; we’ve been steady all day. So, we get a lot of different people, and it’s been really cool to see a lot of new donors come in, too. So, we’ve gotten a lot of new people coming in, so it’s really exciting to see,” Bohacek said.