Darin Schopen, junior mathematics major, has been donating blood about twice a year ever since he was in high school. He is just one of over 600 people who came out last week to give blood at a blood drive hosted by the Residence Hall Association and the American Red Cross.

The blood drive went March 3 – 5 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and was held in Velzy Commons at Ullsvik Hall.

Photograph by Kaitlin Schrader
Nate Salzmann, a senior communication technologies major enjoys a cookie after giving blood. The sugar from cookies helps replenish a donors energy.

RHA and the American Red Cross collected a total of 625 units of blood, falling short of the goal they had set for themselves of 810.

Janessa Kersten, secretary of RHA and coordinator of the blood drive, said the goal was raised since last semester, during which they collected over 700 units.
While their goal for the blood drive wasn’t met, the coordinators of the event were still pleased with the turnout for the event.

Emily Niebuhr, president of RHA and coordinator of the blood drive, said that while the blood drive started off slow, it had picked up over the course of the three days.

“This is one of the biggest blood drives in the region,” said Suzanne Lidtke, American Red Cross liaison to UW-Platteville. “UW-P does not disappoint.”

Photograph by Kaitlin Schrader
Rebecca Cole, a sophomore art education major, was one of more than 600 students who donated from March 3 – 5.

The blood drive at UW-P has been so successful in the past that the American Red Cross has taken several things that are done at the UW-P blood drives and implemented them across the country, such as giving donors name tags and differentiating first-time donors and returning donors with colored stickers, Lidtke said.