It’s rodeo time in Martin, and it’s also time for the April blood drive at UTM.
Lifeline Blood Services, which takes blood donations at UTM each fall and spring, will be located outside the Boling University Center from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Tuesday, April 9, and Wednesday, April 10. Blood drive registration tables, however, will be located inside the UC, close to the Barnes & Noble Bookstore entrance.
Anyone who has previously donated blood through Lifeline can go to www.lifelinebloodserv.org and preregister to skip the wait time at the registration tables. Otherwise, allow about 30 extra minutes to complete the registration process before donating blood.
Lifeline requires that all donors bring a photo I.D. in order to register to donate. Also, according to the Lifeline website, donors must weigh at least 110 pounds; be at least 17 years old; and should not give blood on an empty stomach. Donors should remember, too, that they are allowed to donate only once every eight weeks, as it takes that long for the human body to replace red blood cells.
The annual April blood drive at UTM, also known as the Rodeo Round-up Blood Drive, features some giveaways from Lifeline. The organization plans to give a free rodeo-themed T-shirt to every blood donor, and the first 150 students to donate will receive one free admission ticket to the Thursday night rodeo, April 11.
While all blood types are needed, Lifeline is citing a critical demand for O negative, B negative, and A negative blood types in the West Tennessee area. It is also important to remember that people with certain illnesses or chronic conditions, such as anemia, may be ineligible to donate blood.
“I can’t imagine how horrible it would be to have a loved one who needs a blood product and not be able to get it,” said Danelle Fabianich, UTM assistant athletics director for Academics and Student Athlete Services.
“It’s so important that we make it a habit. It’s an easy philanthropy and it doesn’t cost a thing. Besides, you get a Little Debbie snack and a Coke afterwards,” she said.
All donations made to Lifeline go to patients who need blood in the West Tennessee area.
For more information about the Rodeo Round-Up Blood Drive, contact Fabianich at danellef@utm.edu or 731-881-3688.
For more information on blood donation guidelines, or on other locations for upcoming blood drives, go to www.lifelinebloodserv.org.
