Donors Line Up At Campus Blood Drive

The first of Harvard’s four annual blood drives got off to a larger than normal start yesterday, as extra donors streamed in after the recent attacks on New York.

The four-day blood drive, which runs through Friday, focuses on Harvard College, and is located in the basement of St. Paul’s Church.

This year, the Harvard community—normally one of the largest blood drive sponsors in the area—is responding as never before, according to Red Cross officials.

“We’ve probably had double the normal response today,” said Pamela Leach, a Red Cross worker who is supervising the event.

Marisa W. Green `04 was one of the many Harvard students who went to St. Paul’s to donate blood.

“I thought that there wasn’t much I could do for people in New York, but that this was still something,” Green said.

Although some of the donations made at St. Paul’s will be sent to New York, most of the blood will be used to replenish the local supply, student coordinator Sara R. Feinberg `02 said.

The donors at St. Paul’s yesterday were not limited to members of the Harvard community.

“I came because I’ve read that there’s a shortage of blood nationwide,” said John Heymann, 54, of Somerville, who was waiting to give blood.

The Harvard blood drives are run every year by a team of Red Cross personnel and student volunteers.

Feinberg, along with five other student coordinators, work year-round organizing the blood drives. Many other students, however, choose to volunteer for a few hours to help staff the effort.

Abigail K. Waggoner, a graduate student in economics, is a first-time volunteer. “I was thinking about donating, but it seemed like so many people were willing to donate, and I thought they might need volunteers,” she said.

The four Harvard drives generally succeed in acquiring a combined 2,000 units of blood. Each donation is about one unit, which helps three to six people.

Students who wish to give blood are encouraged to schedule an appointment for either this week or for the December blood drive by calling (800)462-9400. Donating will take an hour to two hours.

Students who are interested in volunteering can e-mail Feinberg at sfeinber@fas.harvard.edu.