Holiday blood drive held at IMU

The American Red Cross and the co-ed community service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega held a holiday blood drive in the Indiana Memorial Union Tuesday and Wednesday. The organizations' goal was to receive at least 300 blood donations. As of 5:20 p.m. Wednesday, 281 people had participated.\nRuth Mena, a senior who donated blood, said she was anxious to help others.\n"Donating helps people in accidents who need blood," she said. "I hope my donation can save lives."\nSenior Luis Marciano, an Alpha Phi Omega member who helped hand out information forms to donors, said Red Cross deserves the help of students because of the tasks its workers perform.\n"This is the best way to help the community," he said. "The American Red Cross does good work, and it really needs help from the student body."\nEach donor gave one pint of blood. \nMary Simon, a Red Cross employee, noted that for every pint of donated blood, up to three lives can be saved.\n"There's a 97 percent chance that you'll need a blood transfusion by age 72, so it's your civic duty to give blood when you can," she said.\nThose who participated in the blood drive were given a free T-shirt and refreshments.