Apparently, it takes more than a small flying mammal to deter Brown students from being civic-minded. Despite being interrupted by a bat flying around Sayles Hall on Wednesday, a three-day blood drive organized by the Rhode Island Blood Center collected 292 pints of blood this week.
"You can't have a blood drive with a bat flying around," said Peter Hanney, manager of donor recruitment at the center, who had thought blood collection Wednesday would have to be canceled.
But Facilities Management stepped in to remove the bat, delaying the drive for only an hour. Despite the commotion, the center collected 89 pints by the end of the day - just one pint short of its goal.
The drive, which took place Monday through Wednesday, was sponsored by Health Services, the Health Promotion Committee, Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity and Kappa Alpha Theta sorority.
Though 292 Brunonians donated blood, about 50 people who wanted to donate blood had to be turned away for various reasons. Some were turned away because in the past year they had visited a foreign country with a higher incidence of diseases such as malaria. On Thursday, the center also collected nine pints of blood during a smaller drive run out of a bus behind Facilities Management's office on Lloyd Avenue.
Hanney said the drive was successful because student groups did an "excellent job" promoting it, especially through Facebook, which he called "a great way of communicating."
The groups put up fliers, table-slipped, made a Facebook group and set up an information table at the Sharpe Refectory to publicize the drive, said Brooke Hair '10, community service chair for Kappa Alpha Theta.
Blood drives at Brown always have been successful, said Sheila Sweeny, a supervisor at the drive.
"I think, all in all, every drive does well. When you combine all of the days, you get a good response," said Sweeny, who has come to Brown for blood drives countless times during her 25 years at the blood center.
Hanney said Brown held one of the first blood drives organized by the center when it opened in 1979 and has contributed nearly 33,000 pints of blood since then.
The donated blood can be split into red blood cells, plasma and platelets, saving up to three lives, Hanney said. The blood collected from this week's drive could save up to 903 lives, he added.
The drive allowed some to give blood for the first time.
"Every time I see (a blood drive) I feel guilty for not doing it," said Geralyn Hoffman, curator of programs and education at the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology.
Hoffman, who "gets ill" when she sees blood, said she heard about a boy who donated his bone marrow to save his dying father. Compared to donating marrow, "this is so easy," she said, tearing up.
More experienced donors said they were glad to be able to give back to the community.
Betsy Jacobson '11, a New York native who has donated blood to the Red Cross before, said she encourages everyone to "try it out."
"It doesn't hurt at all," she said.
Those who are afraid of giving blood might change their mind if they watch a friend giving blood, said Baird Langenbrunner '09, who gave blood for the fifth time on Wednesday.
The next blood drive will take place April 29 through May 1 in Sayles Hall.
