By
The Wildcat Opinions Board
Civic responsibilities are common right now - but they extend beyond the need to vote.
The 14th annual University of Arizona-Arizona State University Blood Donor Challenge is taking place on campus right now in Bear Down Gymnasium, but unfortunately, not enough people are giving enough blood to overtake the Sun Devils' donations - or more importantly, help save lives.
By not giving blood, a healthy person is potentially denying an ill or injured person the chance to heal. This patient in need could be an accident victim, a hemophiliac or a cancer-stricken youngster. But whoever they are, they are facing an emergency situation that can be treated with blood, one of the common factors that all humans share.
With this in mind, excuses like "It's inconvenient" or "I'm afraid" do not cut it and are reduced to apathy. Donating blood is something almost any healthy person can do.
Brian Green, a recruiter for the American Red Cross, said the organization is in the midst of a critical blood shortage, especially for O-negative and O-positive blood - as of Tuesday, the Red Cross' southern Arizona blood banks had less than one day's supply, which is at least 350 pints, of either type.
Green's motives to collect as much blood as possible are simple.
"We need people to help us meet the requirements of local organizations," Green said. "We are here to collect blood and save lives."
To elaborate on the life-saving benefits of donating blood, the American Red Cross Web site provides these arguments:
* Every 12 seconds a patient needs blood in hospitals somewhere in the country.
* Four lives can be potentially saved with one donation, which consists of a little less than a pint.
* Currently, less than 5 percent of those eligible to give blood actually do, yet it is estimated that by age 65, 60 percent of Americans will have used blood.
* The actual donation time takes no more than seven minutes.
Giving blood is a non-complicated process. Sit down, relax, let the blood drive staff member stick in the needle, and in a few minutes, get up and saunter over to the juice and cookies table.
Blood drive organizers attributed the low turn-out to little publication of the event and a change in location because of campus construction but are still optimistic about attaining a 1,600-pint goal - despite having only gathered a few hundred pints so far.
Event coordinators also pointed out that some of the blood that is collected during this week's challenge will be sent to the University Medical Center, keeping the blood close to home. UA students and other campus community members cannot allow this simple act of charity for mankind to slip by. The need for blood is urgent.
Those who donate blood will not only snag the famous juice and cookies and help preserve the UA's lead over ASU - Wildcats have collected more blood than Sun Devils nine years out of 13 - but they can know that the few minutes they spent filling a bag with their blood could add years to another person's life.
So make Arizona State bleed, and save a few lives in the process.
