This year, two campus groups are vying to see who can draw the most blood.
The Red Cross Club, led by president Meaghan Petersack '08, and Princeton Blood Donors (PBD), founded by Hannibal Person '08, are both soliciting donations in what Person described as a "friendly competition."
Petersack's group is hosting the first of its semiannual blood drives next Thursday and Friday, hoping to collect 300 pints from donors, which would put the group on track to best the 505 total pints it collected last year from University students, faculty and staff.
"We hope to beat our last year numbers," Petersack said.
Those numbers, in turn, more than doubled the number of pints the Red Cross Club collected the previous year. The Red Cross rewarded the group's efforts during a Tuesday event at the Princeton Marriott, bestowing it with a "most outstanding blood program" prize and giving Petersack a blood drop-shaped glass trophy for being the "chairperson of the year."
But Person said campus blood donations can be increased by encouraging students to donate more than twice a year. "I wasn't satisfied with blood donation options on campus," said Person, who donates blood multiple times each semester, explaining why he founded PBD in 2004. "The Red Cross holds two blood drives a year, but an individual can give blood up to five times a year."
Since students can only give blood once every 55 days, however, the two groups sometimes vie for the same donors, who may have to choose which organization to give blood to depending on the blood drives' schedules.
Despite the good-natured race between PBD and the Red Cross Club to collect the most donations, Person said he respects his rival group, noting that both organizations are addressing an "urgent national issue."
The Red Cross Club's blood drive is named after Dan Oberst, a beloved longtime OIT staff member who passed away last year. His dying wish was that people donate as much blood as he used during his cancer treatment, members of the Red Cross Club said.
One difference between the Red Cross Club and PDB is that blood collected from the former group is distributed to hospitals across the New Jersey and Pennsylvania region, while the blood obtained by PBD goes straight to the University Medical Center at Princeton.
PBD also works closely with the eating clubs, urging them to solicit donations from members. The Prospect Alliance for Community Action launched the first-ever inter-club blood competition this year, promising a $500 gift certificate from Best Buy to the club that collects the most donations.
Colonial Club held a blood drive in October in conjunction with PBD, and the club's community service chair, Sean Hammer '08, said "the number of first-time donors was especially exciting."
The Colonial members who donated blood last month will be ineligible to donate during the Red Cross blood drive next week.
Nevertheless, Petersack said that as long as the total pool of donors is increasing and people are giving blood on campus, the purpose of both PBD and her own group is served.
"One pint of blood can save up to three lives," she said, no matter which group provides it.
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