Tuesday October 23, 2001

Students donate more than 1,100 pints in week-long campaign, top ASU by over 350 pints

UA students overcame a slow start to donate more than 1,100 pints of blood to beat ASU by more than 350 pints in the schools' annual competition.

The University of Arizona collected 1,128 pints, beating Arizona State University's total of 775, but fell short of the 2,000 pint goal set by the Associated Students of the University of Arizona. The blood drive began Oct. 13 and ran through Friday.

Last year, ASU won the competition, collecting nearly 1,100 pints to the UA's 1,000.

UA's victory was a surprise after the lackluster show of donors early in the week. On Wednesday, representatives from ASUA and the Red Cross said they were worried by the fewer than 250 pints that had been donated at that time.

By Friday, so many people were lined up to give blood that time ran out and many were turned away.

"We had 200 people who didn't get to donate because it was too late," said Lynn Cunningham, director of marketing and communication for the Arizona region of the Red Cross.

Sam Chang, executive vice president of ASUA, said he is happy UA won the competition this year, but was disappointed that so many students waited too long to donate.

Chang said one reason for the small increase in numbers from last year is because many students were unaware of the drive early in the week. He said ASUA advertised the blood drive through press releases, fliers in residence halls and on campus kiosks before the event.

Chang said the most effective tool in getting people to donate was word of mouth. He said the drive was mentioned in many club meetings during the week, prompting members to donate, which in turn encouraged others to do the same.

"People within ASUA were actually standing up in class to announce it," Chang said. "As word spread, more people came out."

University Activities Board President January Terry said students who donated were interested in helping people more than beating ASU.

"There wasn't a lot of 'beat ASU' spirit," Terry said. "It was more people wanting to help the cause."

Cunningham, said some students could not donate because they gave blood immediately after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks or during the Back to School drive held at the beginning of the semester.

"People can donate only every 56 days," Cunningham said. "That may have made some people who wanted to donate ineligible."

Cunningham said the key to increasing blood donations is education about giving blood and informing the public about upcoming events.

"We're going to be coming back to campus non-stop," Cunningham said. "We want UA to continue to be a strong resource for us."

Upcoming campus blood drives will be held Oct. 31 and Nov. 14.