(Photo: Axon Medica)
By: Sally Andarge, Staff Reporter
Just a short few weeks ago, Bonfils held a blood drive here on the Regis University campus. Most people are open to the idea of giving blood and possibly saving a life. After all the Bonfils slogan is, “You’re just our type, be a hero today.” Whether it be out of guilt, or out of the goodness of their hearts, people are typically willing to give blood.
But, has that changed? It used to be that college campuses had an abundance of willing donors, ready to have a nurse tap into their veins for the greater good. That doesn’t seem to be the case as of late. Considering the recent trend of donating plasma for money, it makes sense that people would rather go in and donate blood where they are given incentive.
This trend is especially common among the demographic of broke, college kids, looking for some quick cash. When I asked around, I was told that many students go twice a week and get paid about $50 the first few times. After that, you get an incentive for bringing in more people who are willing to donate plasma as well.
Now, donating is donating, no matter the incentive, but is that affecting blood drives and the way that they function? Should blood centers that target colleges and universities like Regis be changing the way they conduct campus blood drives?
I started to ask these questions when I realized just how easy it is to donate plasma once you find a facility that does so. Considering the nearest one to Regis is about 0.8 miles away, I think it’s fair to assume that these questions pertain to our university as well.
Maybe, there needs to be a way to appeal to students outside of just money, which sounds awful considering we are talking about donating life-saving blood, but it may be necessary at the end of the day, if we need more heroes, stepping up to the needle.