A three-day blood drive held on campus this week collected more than 318 pints of blood, including 148 on Wednesday alone.
The blood drive, administered by the Rhode Island Blood Center, took place in Sayles Hall on Tuesday and Wednesday and Faunce House on Thursday. The amount collected is similar to drives in past years.
The publicity for the blood drive, sponsored by Alpha Epsilon Pi, Kappa Alpha Theta, the Health Promotions Committee and Health Services, included table slips, flyers, a Facebook group and Greek life students in the Sharpe Refectory.
New Brown students flocked to the blood drive as well. For Tom Xu '12, giving blood was a new experience. Throughout his high school years, Xu could not give blood because of athletics. However, as the new school year began, Xu was intent on giving blood.
"I feel like it's our duty to give others in need," he said.
According to blood drive supervisor Barbara Fletcher, while more than 148 people donated on Wednesday, blood center phlebotomists turned away 56 people, mostly because they had visited countries with heightened risk of malaria or with insufficient vitals.
On Wednesday night, after two days at Sayles Hall, the blood drive was relocated to Faunce. Supervisor Liz Salisbury said the move was inconvenient because all of the equipment had to be moved. Red arrows on the Main Green let people know it had moved from the usual location.
The Rhode Island Blood Center, which collects all blood donations in the state, comes to Brown four times a year and visits area businesses as well as all local colleges and high schools, including some in North Attleboro, Mass., according to Fletcher. Ultimately, the blood center must collect 270 to 300 pints of blood needed every day to supply Rhode Island, she said.
Deborah Zona, a donor specialist who has been working for the blood center for eight years, said it is a "good reward, being a donor."
The Rhode Island Blood Center will next visit the University in eight to nine weeks, Salisbury said. Anyone who donated in this week's blood drive can donate then as well, she added.
