Due to the recent natural disasters that have taken place, the United States is currently in desperate need of donor blood.
Long Beach City College students had the chance to help, as The Red Cross Foundation hosted a blood drive at the Liberal Art Campus.
“Because we have flooding in Texas and we have hurricanes that have happened we’ve lost over 750 blood drives because of those disasters,” said Lisa Love, Senior Account Manager for The American Red Cross.
Blood drives can be vital to the support of struggling citizens across the US, and even the world.
“We’re trying to fill in the gaps and every donation saves three lives,” Love said.
The goal on Tuesday was to get a total of 68 pints of blood.
This was the only blood drive in Long Beach on Tuesday, according to Love, but The American Red Cross will be changing locations on a daily basis throughout Long Beach.
“We do as many blood drives as we can possibly do,” Love said.
Students were constantly in and out of the Liberal Arts Campus Student Center to donate blood.
“I’ve been donating blood since I was a sophomore in high school,” LBCC student Aislynn Valadez said.
“I’ve been doing it for a while so I might as well do it again and help people.”
Every once in a while the most common, but most useful of all blood types would come along and contribute to the cause.
“I’m O+,” said LBCC student Christina Hernandez. “So I usually tell people that I can help them but they can’t help me.”
“My blood is universal, obviously, so whenever I can donate, I donate,” said HernandezÂ
“I’ve been donating for 10 plus years.”
O+ blood types have neither A or B antigens on their red blood cells, but both A and B antibodies in their plasma, therefore A+, B+ and AB+ blood types can receive O+ blood.