40 The American Red Cross announced on September 11th that there was a national blood shortage. Rio Hondo College partnered with the American Red Cross on Monday, October 16th and Tuesday, October 17th. Any roadrunner could of signed up, donate blood and receive a $15 dollar amazon gift card along with a Seaworld ticket.

But contributing to saving lives is enough for students at Rio Hondo. “I thought it would be nice to give blood to others of course as a nice gesture” said Jorge Quezada. The American Red Cross is a community partner which collects 40 percent of the nation’s blood supply. A variety of colleges such as the University of La Verne, Mt. Sac, Cal Poly Pomona, Whittier College and others also held a blood drive in recent weeks. 

Every person has different blood types, which makes blood donors with any blood type desperately needed. The need for blood throughout hospitals in the nation is crucial. With unexpected daily trauma related accidents like car accidents and day to day procedures needed on patients such as surgery and cancer treatments, the blood usage in hospitals is high. “90 percent of the blood donated goes to hospitals,” said D’Angelo. During summer, hospitals started to not have enough blood donors donate.

40 people sign up for each blood drive. Thanks to blood donors acts of kindness can be possible. “We usually would be getting 40 to 50 pints donated in a day” said D’ Angelo. Monday, October 16th and Tuesday October 17th became fully booked with blood donors. 

For many students, it is their first time donating blood. Student Dayleen Guzman said, “This is my first time and after watching Grey’s Anatomy, I was allowed to see what people in the real world go through.” Other students donate blood as they relate their donation with personal experiences. “When I was young I had open heart surgery and the doctor told me she donated blood to me because there was no blood,” said student Virginia Camarena. 

The next blood drive at Rio Hondo will take place next semester, but anyone can donate off campus as well. The Blood Donor App allows anyone to simply check nearby blood drives and schedule appointments to donate blood. The free app is available on the app store and provides additional information for anyone interested in donating.