Approximately 100 students donated blood in the blood drive held on Thursday, February 27, down from about 300 students in the previous donation.
“The circumstances change every year,” Student Union President Jamila Ma said. “Students were reluctant to give up their free periods [to donate].”
Blood drive co-coordinator Philip Chang attributed this decrease to the new policy of making permission slips mandatory. This drive had a walk-in policy, a reversal from the online sign-ups that had been required for several previous drives. Students were required to bring a permission form with written consent from a guardian and identification. The form was available at the SU office until the day before the drive.
“You’re not allowed [to give blood] without a permission slip,” said Chang, “Lots of people were deferred.” Students were also denied for the usual reasons, such as iron deficiency, being underweight, and recent visits to countries associated with various health risks.
Students were asked to come to the blood drive the period before their lunch or free period, with the consent of their teacher. According to Chang, donating blood takes approximately thirty minutes, but long lines can delay the process, forcing students to wait as long as two periods.
According to Chang, the previous blood drive—held on December 17, 2007—was “less [successful] in the respect of the administration complaining. Teachers got mad last time because students were missing many of their classes,” he said.
The new changes received a positive response from teachers. “There were no complaints at all from teachers [this year],” said Student Union president Jamila Ma.
Despite the success of the organizational changes, participation decreased. According to New York Blood Center Donor Services Team Leader Michele Linzalone, although the number of total donated pints was better than other schools, it was “a little less than usual” for Stuyvesant.