UTEP, NMSU join forces to give blood
The University of Texas at El Paso and New Mexico State University will lay aside their athletic rivalry for one week as they join forces to help save lives.
The two universities will collect blood donations from students, staff, faculty, alumni and community members in the annual “I-10 Coalition Blood Drive” Sept. 10-14. The event kicks off at 11:30 a.m. Monday, Sept. 10 on the UTEP campus at the Union Plaza. The media is invited to attend.
“Last year we collected 1,300 pints – this year our goal is to collect 1,400 pints between both universities in one week,” said Ruben Tafoya, senior donor recruitment representative for United Blood Services. “There are 18 community hospitals in Las Cruces and El Paso that use an average of 175 pints per day. This lifesaving event will guarantee an adequate blood supply for about nine days.”
The kick-off event will include Paydirt Pete and the UTEP cheerleaders, a welcome from UTEP President Diana Natalicio, and a testimonial from a past blood recipient. Pizza and drinks will be served. United Blood Services will announce the total number of pints collected at the UTEP vs. NMSU football game Sept. 15. in the Sun Bowl.
Blood donation sites will be set up at three locations on the UTEP campus from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day. A mobile blood donation unit will be available in the parking lot adjacent to the Union, and another mobile unit will be parked directly in front of the Undergraduate Learning Center. The third draw site will be set up in the Peter and Margaret de Wetter Center. UTEP alumni and other members of the El Paso community are invited to participate.
Donors should be feeling healthy the day they donate, be 17 years or older and present a photo ID. Each donor will receive a free mini physical to make sure they are qualified to donate blood – that includes taking the donor’s blood pressure and heart rate and completing an iron deficiency test. The entire donation process takes about 45 minutes, which includes the post-donation rest period. Each donor will receive snacks, a UTEP T-shirt that says “I Bleed Orange” and a small thank you gift while supplies last.
“Blood donation is the easiest way to give back to your community” Tafoya said. “This generation of college students is very aware of how important it is to make a difference, and blood donation is literally giving of themselves to others.”
Tafoya said the rarest blood type is AB negative – only 1 percent of the population possesses that type. While all blood types are critically needed for donation – the most needed is O-negative, which is universal and can be given to anyone in need of blood. Only 3 percent of donors in the border region have O-negative blood.
“One in four people in this region alone will require a blood transfusion in their lifetime,” Tafoya said. “I cannot stress enough the importance of this event.”
Source: UTEP
