Spring Blood Drive Opens Here Today; More Donors Needed

The PBH spring blood drive opens today with only 950 members of the University scheduled to give blood, Louis C. Stern '57, co-chairman of the drive, reported yesterday.

This will be the poorest drive in many years, Stern said, unless all 1300 who pledged and additional students donate blood during the week-long drive. Blood will be collected at Memorial Hall between 11:45 a.m. and 5:45 p.m. through Friday.

Stern urged students over 21 who have not pledged to appear at the collection center this week and volunteer. He stressed the great need of the Greater Boston hospitals for blood.

The number of pledges is extremely low, the co-chairman said, considering that over half of the University was contacted about the drive. The canvassing of Radcliffe, conducted by Margaret E. Putney '56 and Margreta V. Gerhart '59, was also largely unsuccessful, Stern said.

Stern attributed the drive's poor results principally to students' lack of knowledge of the need for blood. Other reasons were the weather and an insufficient number of solicitors, Stern said.